“That is Not His Decision to Make” and “Disgusting Overreach”: Arizona Reaction to Trump’s Unconstitutional Executive Order Restricting Mail-In Voting

Again citing big lies on voter fraud associated with mail-in voting and other policy issues, American Duce Wannabe Donald Trump signed an Unconstitutional Executive Order restricting access to that ballot option.

In signing his Executive Order, Duce wannabe Trump falsely accused Democrats of cheating in elections to cover up what the Mad King dishonestly claims is opposition to their policy positions on immigration, voter ID, and transgender civil rights.

What Trump is doing, again, is projecting his desire to rig elections in his favor because most voters are opposed to his policies, which have resulted in higher gas and food prices, cut off and fewer services, people being disappeared into American Concentration Camps, American citizens killed on the streets by his white nationalist ICE-Gestapo patrols, a war on science, history, and clean energy to favor oil and coal industries, and getting this nation into a war of choice against Iran that is fast becoming another Middle East quagmire where the Persian Nation may well win the conflict in the long term and making this nation less safe and more isolated.

This illegal Executive Order should be challenged in the courts within hours, and the people against this latest MAGA reach to establish an American Authoritarian White Nationalist Fascist Order, unlike Mr. Trump, have the Constitution on their side.

Arizona’s leaders quickly reacted to Mr. Trump’s voter suppression order.

Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs posted:

“Only citizens vote in Arizona elections. That’s the law, and we’ll continue to enforce it. We don’t need Washington politicians telling us how to run our elections.”

This Executive Order is nothing more than an illegal attack on vote by mail and access to the ballot box.”

Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes, in probably her first statement on the path to another joint lawsuit against Mr. Trump’s Fascist-Authoritarian dream, issued the below remarks:

“President Trump can sign all the executive orders he wants. It won’t change the United States Constitution. States run their elections, not the President of the United States, not the Department of Homeland Security. That is not a political opinion. It is bedrock constitutional law, and federal court after federal court has said exactly that in striking down this administration’s previous attempts to seize control of American elections.

In Arizona, over 80 percent of voters choose to vote by mail. That system was built by Republicans, passed by a Republican-controlled legislature, and has been used safely and securely for decades. Even Donald Trump himself voted by mail earlier this month. The President is not trying to improve election security; he is trying to control who gets to vote. That is not his decision to make.

We will use every legal tool available to defend Arizona’s elections, Arizona’s voters, and Arizona’s constitutional right to run its own elections.”

Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes, the person charged with overseeing the states elections, released his statement right after Attorney General Mayes, writing:

“Arizona operates as the gold standard for election administration, requiring documented proof of citizenship (DPOC) at the time of registration and voter ID at the polls. This Executive Order is a disgusting overreach from the federal government and shows how little the Trump Administration understands about election administration. States already deploy rigorous voter roll maintenance efforts to ensure that our elections are safe and secure. Arizona receives DPOC from voters, including birth certificates and Native American Tribal ID, that is not accurately reflected by SAVE’s flawed database. States run elections and understand what must be done to protect every eligible voter, the federal government does not.

This move is nothing more than a push to weaponize the sensitive personal information of voters in this country, an effort my office will continue to fight unrelentingly. Donald Trump is attempting to pick his desired list of voters in each state with the Social Security Administration’s help. The presidential action would require that the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) only send absentee ballots to those on each state’s approved mail-in ballot list—upending our vote-by-mail system currently serving 80% of Arizona’s voters. My office is actively working with Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes and her team. We will not let this order stand without a fight and will meet the federal government in court to protect the right to vote for every Arizonan.”

Representative and former Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton posted:

“This is brazenly unconstitutional and a waste of taxpayer dollars.

More than 75% of Arizona voters vote by mail, and we have one of the most rigorous voter registration processes in the country.

It should be immediately challenged in court.”

It will be.

Arizona Senate Democrats released the below joint statement:

“Today, Donald Trump signed an unconstitutional executive order targeting mail-in voting, reviving the same baseless claims that have been repeatedly rejected by courts, election officials, and members of both parties. This executive order is written by an administration that clearly doesn’t understand how elections are actually administered, yet it seeks to politically insert this federal administration into the process. Arizona, like every other state, already has a list of registered and mail ballot voters. Arizona already mails ballots in envelopes with unique barcodes. Arizona already has rigorous voter list maintenance procedures.

This order isn’t about “election integrity.” It’s about making it harder for eligible voters to cast their ballots and letting President Trump and his administration choose who gets to vote in a critical election year. Requiring federal agencies to compile voter lists and limiting access to mail ballots raises serious legal and constitutional concerns. States, not the federal government, administer elections, and any attempt to override that authority will rightly face challenges in court.

We are once again telling this administration to get out of the way and let our elections administrators to their job. We stand with Attorney Mayes and Secretary of State Fontes to continue to defend the right of all eligible Arizonans to vote.”