On Tuesday, former President Donald Trump signed an executive order that represents not only an overreach of executive power but an alarming and unconstitutional attempt to suppress the right to vote. This order threatens to disenfranchise millions of voters by making it harder both to register and to remain registered, particularly targeting those who already face systemic barriers: rural communities, low-wage workers, women, Black, Latino, Indigenous, and immigrant communities across the South and beyond.

This order is unenforceable because it seeks to usurp powers that the President does not have under the Constitution—the authority to determine the times, places, and manner of elections. Let’s be clear: this executive order does not address a real problem. Instead, it creates new ones, much like North Carolina’s HB 127, Senate Bill 747, and the dangerous legal arguments being made in the unresolved North Carolina Supreme Court Justice race—the last election in the nation yet to be certified. These measures are part of a broader strategy to manufacture fear around so-called "election integrity" in order to justify voter suppression. We’ve seen this playbook before: fabricate a crisis, then use it as a pretext to dismantle democracy and attack our fundamental right to vote.

By requiring voters to provide a passport as proof of citizenship for voter registration while threatening to strip federal funding from states that count every valid ballot, this executive order creates additional barriers for rural, poor, and low-English-proficiency voters. These communities already struggle to access the resources needed to obtain such documentation. Many eligible voters lack the required paperwork—not because they are ineligible, but because existing systems make participation unnecessarily difficult. Passports are costly, and in rural areas, a lack of internet access makes it even harder to apply for or obtain these documents. Additionally, people with disabilities and those in remote areas face logistical hurdles in reaching government offices where such documents are issued.

This executive order is a direct attack on a just, representative, and multiracial democracy. It continues a long history of racialized voter suppression in the South—from poll taxes and literacy tests to modern voter ID laws. The goal remains the same: to keep power in the hands of the few by silencing the many.

Our coalition is sounding the alarm. This executive order threatens democracy, our right to self-govern, and the fundamental promise that every voice matters. We recognize this strategy, and we refuse to let history repeat itself. We will challenge this unconstitutional order and demand a restored and strengthened Voting Rights Act. Congress must act now to protect the ballot from political interference and ensure that every voter—regardless of race, income, or zip code—has an equal say in our democracy.

What happens in North Carolina is not an isolated incident—it is a national blueprint for voter suppression. But the people of North Carolina, and the people of this country, will not stand by and allow these attacks to go unanswered. Our fight is not just local—it is a call to action for the entire nation. The South is rising to defend democracy, and what happens here will shape the future for all of us.

We must stand together against this executive order and every other effort to make voting more difficult. Our democracy is strongest when every eligible voter can freely and fairly cast their ballot. We cannot allow self-serving politicians to strip away our rights under the guise of election security. Now is the time to push back against these attacks and demand a system that works for everyone—not just those in power.

Signed:
Advance Carolina
Common Cause North Carolina
Democracy NC
Forward Justice
Forward Justice Action Network
NAACP North Carolina State Conference
NC Black Alliance
North Carolina For The People Action
North Carolina Poor People’s Campaign
Southern Coalition for Social Justice