'See you in court': States hit back at Trump's 'laughably unconstitutional' voter act

Ewan Gleadow
Wed, 01 Apr 2026 10:48:29 +0000
Executive order, Midterms, Donald trump

Lawmakers across the United States hit out at Donald Trump after he signed an executive order that would hinder mail-in ballots ahead of the midterm elections.

The president signed an executive order yesterday (March 31) to hinder mail-in ballots and create a list of eligible voters. The order comes shortly after infighting over the SAVE Act, which would require voters to present identification. Trump has said previously that the SAVE Act is his number one priority, but an executive order recently passed by the president has issued a similar, "foolproof" order, Time reported.

He added, "Maybe it’ll be tested. Maybe it won’t." Lawmakers from across the country may challenge the order, with Tobias Read, the Secretary of State for Oregon, issuing a warning to Trump earlier today (April 1)."

He wrote, "The President's latest Executive Order is another desperate, illegal power grab. The Constitution is clear: states run elections. We don’t need decrees from Washington D.C. My message to the President: we’ll see you in court."

Shenna Bellows, the Democratic candidate for Governor of Maine, also stood against the executive order. "The President clearly didn’t get the copy of the Constitution I sent him," she wrote on X. "This Executive Order is laughably unconstitutional, and Maine is not going to obey in advance because the President isn’t in charge of elections, the states are."

Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes also issued a statement denouncing the mail-in executive order. He wrote, "As long as I am Arizona’s Secretary of State, I will be in your corner fighting to protect your right to vote by mail."

In a separate post from Fontes, the Democratic Party representative called the executive order "un-American".

Senator Mark Kelly, who earlier this year irked both the president and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, added, "The federal government doesn’t get to tell Arizona how to run its elections."

"Vote by mail in Arizona is secure. Voters from every corner of the state and every political viewpoint have used it for decades to elect Republicans and Democrats."