By Anumita Kaur and Gaya Gupta
Millions of Americans could be prevented from voting after President Donald Trump signed an executive order Tuesday requiring people to provide documents that prove they are citizens when they register to vote.
The order requires people to present a passport, a Real ID, a military identification card or another government-issued ID that indicates U.S. citizenship when registering to vote. But a vast swath of Americans don’t have this kind of documentation, voting rights experts told The Washington Post.
High costs, bureaucratic delays and transportation issues are among myriad hurdles preventing many Americans from acquiring these forms of identification, which means Trump’s new mandate will make it harder for citizens to reach the ballot box, experts said.
“It would impact millions of people,” said Ron Hayduk, a political science professor at San Francisco State University. “It would radically upend voter registration.”
It’s unclear if all Real IDs indicate whether its holder is a U.S. citizen. Just five states offer “an enhanced driver’s license” that explicitly indicates citizenship status, and experts warned that the Real IDs being rolled out in each state might not qualify as a proof of citizenship on their own.
Read the full article in The Washington Post.
