Your Ballot, Your Vote

What Trump's New Election Order Could Mean for St. Joe County Voters

President Trump signs a new executive order on voting. Experts say he lacks the authority. We can remind our local clerks, state reps, and our federal lawmakers that elections must stay at the state level.

The new executive order would put the U.S. Postal Service in charge of who gets a mail ballot. While election experts say the president doesn't have that power, the uncertainty alone could affect how residents here vote.

In St. Joseph County, voting has never been a simple errand. Township clerks serving scattered communities from Leonidas to Florence, from Burr Oak to Sherman Township, administer elections across a largely rural landscape where driving to a polling place can mean a long trip on back roads. For many residents here — the elderly, the disabled, shift workers, farmers mid-harvest — absentee ballots are not a convenience. They are the most practical way to participate in democracy.

That access is now at the center of a national legal battle.

On Tuesday, President Trump signed a new executive order titled "Ensuring Citizenship Verification and Integrity in Federal Elections," directing the Department of Homeland Security and the Social Security Administration to compile a list of adult citizens in each state eligible to vote, and instructing the U.S. Postal Service to transmit mail ballots only to voters who appear on a state-submitted, USPS-approved participation list.

In the 2024 general election, nearly a third of all voters cast mail ballots. In Michigan, that share was even higher.

How Michigan — and Rural Voters — Rely on Absentee Voting

Michigan voters approved no-excuse absentee voting in a 2018 ballot initiative, and the state has since built one of the most robust mail voting systems in the country. More than 5.6 million Michiganders voted (that’s 79% of active voters) in the 2024 presidential election, making Michigan third in the nation for voter turnout (Bridge Michigan).

A majority of Michigan voters utilized absentee and early voting options, with 39.2% casting absentee ballots. Absentee voting transcended party lines: of the 15 counties where it was the most popular voting method, seven went for Trump and seven went for Harris.

Just over 25% of active, registered voters in Michigan have joined the state's permanent absentee ballot list, meaning they will automatically receive a mail-in ballot for all future elections. For many of those voters, particularly seniors and people with disabilities in rural townships, that automatic enrollment is how they have voted for years.

In a county like ours, where some precincts cover large geographic areas and where poll workers and local election clerks operate on tight budgets and thin margins, absentee voting also reduces strain on election infrastructure. If significant numbers of voters who currently vote by mail are forced to find other options, it falls on local clerks to absorb that disruption.

What the Executive Order Would Do

The order directs the Postmaster General to initiate rulemaking to require all mail-in and absentee ballots transmitted by USPS to be placed in secure ballot envelopes marked as Official Election Mail, with unique trackable barcodes. It also requires USPS to transmit ballots only to individuals enrolled on a state-specific Mail-in and Absentee Participation List.

The order directs states to provide the federal government a list of eligible mail voters 60 days before an election and requires mail ballot envelopes to be compatible with USPS's automated tracking service. Election experts say that 60-day timeline alone would be difficult for many smaller jurisdictions to meet, and the technical requirements for barcode-compatible envelopes would require many counties to redesign their materials and procurement processes from scratch.

The order also authorizes the Attorney General to investigate states and localities that give ballots to ineligible voters — and to possibly prosecute local officials involved. CNN That provision has drawn particular alarm from local election administrators, who note that township clerks across rural Michigan operate as volunteers or part-time staff with no legal resources to navigate federal prosecution threats.

The Constitutional Question

Election law scholars across the political spectrum have been clear: this order faces serious constitutional obstacles.

Article I, Section 4 of the Constitution gives states and Congress, not, the president, the power to make laws governing elections. A former Justice Department lawyer and election administration expert told CNN that "the president is trying to dictate policy to the states, and it's also very clear that the United States Constitution prevents that."

This is not the first time the Trump administration has attempted to reshape elections by executive order. A previous executive order signed about a year ago attempted to require documentary proof of citizenship for voter registration and prohibit counting mail ballots that arrived after Election Day. That EO has been blocked by federal judges who said the president lacked the constitutional authority.

Rick Hasen, an election law expert at UCLA, wrote that the new order is likely unconstitutional and that "the timing here makes this virtually impossible to implement in time for November's elections." Voting rights organizations have already pledged to sue.

What Michigan's State System Protects, For Now

Michigan's election laws are set by the state, not the federal executive branch, and Michigan's Secretary of State's office has not indicated it will voluntarily comply with requirements that conflict with state law. Michigan voters retain the right to vote absentee under state law regardless of federal action. Any changes to how ballots are delivered through USPS would require either a court-enforced order or new federal legislation.

The SAVE America Act, a companion piece of legislation that would require strict proof of citizenship to register to vote, passed the House but faces an uphill battle in the Senate.

Still, the uncertainty created by ongoing litigation and an administration actively seeking to restrict mail voting has real effects. Voter confusion about whether their absentee ballot will be counted, whether they are on the right list, or whether their local clerk might face legal exposure could suppress participation. This can especially affect older and more isolated rural voters who have come to depend on the mail ballot system as their primary means of civic engagement.

What St. Joe County Voters Can Do Now

Michigan's absentee voting system remains fully operational under state law. Residents in Sturgis, Three Rivers, Centreville, and across the county's townships can still request absentee ballots, join the permanent absentee list, and return ballots by mail or drop box as they have in previous elections. Local township clerks remain the authoritative source for election information and are not subject to federal directives that conflict with Michigan law.

With midterm elections approaching in November, the most important thing voters here can do is stay informed through official Michigan state sources… and not let the noise of a national political and legal fight deter them from casting their ballot, in whatever form works best for them.

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Sources: NPR, Votebeat, CNN, Bridge Michigan, Michigan Secretary of State, White House fact sheet, U.S. Constitution Article I Section 4.