MORRISVILLE (March 28, 2025) — Tuesday’s executive order signed by Donald Trump is not just an overreach; it is an alarming unconstitutional escalation in the ongoing effort to suppress the right to vote and silence the will of the people. This order threatens to disenfranchise millions by not only making it harder to register to vote but also to stay registered to vote by targeting those who already face systemic barriers: rural communities, poor and low-wage voters, women, Black, Latino, Indigenous, and immigrant communities across the South and beyond.
It is unenforceable because it seeks to steal away powers the President lacks in our Constitution — the ability to determine the times, places, and manners of elections. Let’s be clear: this order does not solve a real problem. This executive order would create new ones — just like North Carolina’s HB 127, SB 747, and the dangerous arguments made in the ongoing litigation surrounding the North Carolina Supreme Court Justice race – the last election yet to be certified in the nation. These measures manufacture fear around “election integrity” to justify voter suppression. We’ve seen this playbook before: make up a crisis, then use it to attack our freedom to vote in ongoing attempts to dismantle democracy.
By purporting to force voters to provide a passport as documented proof of citizenship to register, while threatening to strip federal funds from states that count every valid ballot, this executive order creates additional barriers for rural, poor, low English proficiency and low-wealth voters who oftentimes already do not have equal access to the resources required to obtain such documentation. Many simply don’t have the paperwork on hand, not because they’re ineligible but because our systems already make it harder for certain people to participate. Required documents like passports can be cost-prohibitive, and a lack of internet access in rural areas makes it difficult for folks to access online systems to obtain these documents. There are also physical access issues for people with disabilities who face mobility challenges and folks in rural areas who don’t have easy access to the offices that they would have to visit to obtain the required documents.
This is a targeted attack on a just, representative, multiracial democracy and a direct continuation of a long history of racialized voter suppression in the South. From poll taxes to literacy tests to modern-day voter ID laws, the goal has always been the same: to keep power in the hands of the few by silencing the many.
In this coalition, we are sounding the alarm.This executive order is a threat to democracy, to our right to self-govern, and to the promise of an equal voice in our future. We know how this story goes — and we refuse to let history repeat itself.
We will fight this unconstitutional order and we need a restored and strengthened Voting Rights Act, now. Congress must act to protect the ballot from political interference and ensure that every voter, regardless of race, income, or zip code, has an equal say.
This is exactly why we say that when we change the South, we change the nation. What’s happening in North Carolina isn’t isolated; it’s a blueprint that is playing out nationally. But the people of North Carolina refuse to let these attacks go unanswered, and the people of this country won’t look away either.
Our fight is not just local. It is a signal to the nation that we will not let these issues be swept under the rug. The South is rising to defend democracy, and what happens here will shape what’s possible everywhere.
We must stand against this Executive Order and every other effort to make voting harder. Our democracy is strongest when every eligible voter can cast their ballot freely and fairly. We cannot allow self-serving elected leaders to strip away our rights under the pretense of security. It’s time to push back against these attacks and demand a system that works for all of us—not just those in power.
Advance Carolina
Black Voters Matter
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