A Comprehensive Breakdown of President Trump's First Major E.O. Over Elections

A nearly 3,000 word executive order laying the framework for drastic elections overhauls broken down for you, the reader, in easily digestible nuggets and bullet points.

My task today is to break down President Trump’s first election-related executive order in the most succinct way possible. That means condensing a lot of verbiage and substance into information-packed nuggets stemming from the brief introduction I reeled off yesterday when the order was announced. From that piece:

Miller ticked off a few of the high points covered in today’s order:

· Cuts down on illegals in the voter rolls by sharing data with DHS and requiring a citizenship question on the national voter registration form.

· Cut EAC (Election Assistance Commission) funding for states running corrupt elections (it remains to be seen which criteria will be used to determine which states are corrupt)

· Instructs Department of Justice to prosecute election crimes and foreign interference

· Repeals Biden’s Executive Order 14019, “Promoting Access to Voting,” which engages government in voter registration and other items that corrupt elections

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The order is broad, and most notably, isn’t the last one we are going to see from Trump as we strive to get something meaningful passed through legislation – namely the Make Elections Secure Act (MESA).

Without further ado, here is my point-by-point rundown of the “Preserving and Protecting the Integrity of American Elections” order, signed by President Trump on March 25, 2025, spanning 11 sections:

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Section 1 – Purpose and Policy

Haymakers right out of the gate:

Despite pioneering self-government, the United States now fails to enforce basic and necessary election protections employed by modern, developed nations, as well as those still developing.

Trump’s order highlights other nations that do some things right, specifically Germany, Canada, Denmark, and Sweden. The latter two were noted for not counting late-arriving votes and limiting mail to those unable to vote in person. The order highlights the fact that many states abuse mail-in voting (there are 8 states that practice Universal Mail-In Voting, in which every registration has a ballot sent to it, regardless of whether it belongs to a real, living person.

Free, fair, and honest elections unmarred by fraud, errors, or suspicion are fundamental to maintaining our constitutional Republic. The right of American citizens to have their votes properly counted and tabulated, without illegal dilution, is vital to determining the rightful winner of an election.

Trump’s order calls out the dereliction of duty by the federal government to enforce election laws and prevent abuse by certain states. A key point arises when Trump’s order states his administration intends to ensure no late ballots are counted in federal elections, with mail-in related excuses no longer valid. The registration of illegal aliens and other non-citizens is brought up, as is another key point of truth:

Maintaining accurate voter registration lists is a fundamental requirement in protecting voters from having their ballots voided or diluted by fraudulent votes.

Trump closes the section by affirming that voters deserve elections that are “honest and worthy of the public trust,” and that he intends to lead us toward a system with a voter-verifiable paper record. I believe Section 1 is a great way to start the order off and justify what follows.

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Section 2 – Enforcing the Citizenship Requirement for Federal Elections

This section requires the Election Assistance Commission (EAC), the body that provides oversight, funding, certification standards, and other items pertaining to federal elections, to require proof of citizenship when registering with the national mail voter registration form. This is no longer an “attestation” that one is a citizen, but something with a list of go-no go items for proof that must be verified.

Section 2 also lays out procedures and entities involved in identifying “unqualified” voters – the Department of Homeland Security, State Department, and Attorney General are prominent. They have roles designed to audit and evaluate voter rolls and assessing citizenship of voters.

This section is a common-sense driven portion, but I still believe that illegal aliens aren’t voting in significant numbers; I believe they are being voted for. They appear on voter rolls primarily because of motor voter and Automatic Voter Registration, especially when states pass laws allowing illegals to get driver’s licenses, and from there are dispensed a mail ballot that others harvest up, often for cash. This section addresses the symptom more than the root cause, which is faulty voter registration methodology.

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Section 3 – Providing Other Assistance to States Verifying Eligibility

Section 3 provides guidance engaging the Commissioner of Social Security to use the SSN Verification Service, the Death Master File, and other databases to ensure voter rolls contain only those who are eligible and alive. This section tasks the Attorney General with prosecuting those who do not take steps to keep voter rolls in proper alignment, containing only eligible voters, and the Secretary of Defense with cleaning up UOCAVA (Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act) voting by verifying citizenship and determining eligibility to vote in each state.

This section is an accompaniment to Section 2 and sharpens the focus a bit to include others than illegals and non-citizens. UOCAVA is a low-key way elections are rigged without fanfare, and those ballots, which somehow went overwhelmingly for Biden in 2020 despite containing a large chunk of military votes, trickle in for days after Election Day. After reading through the complexity of Sections 2 and 3, I wonder if Stephen Miller has ever advised the President that North Dakota has no voter registration at all and has run arguably the cleanest elections of the entire Trump era. Why not cancel voter registration entirely?

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Section 4 – Improving the Election Assistance Commission

The Election Assistance Commission (EAC) is a body created under the Help America Vote Act (2002) that provides oversight for federal elections, certifies equipment, and disperses funds to states. It consists of four bi-partisan commissioners who often wind up going to work for election vendors, calling into question their effectiveness and supposedly unbiased nature. The MESA bill proposes abolishing the EAC and replacing it with a group of voting systems, security, and technology experts, with the new organization called TRUST – Technical Review for United States Security and Technology.

However, since the EAC is with us for now, Trump’s order directs the EAC to cease funding states who refuse to comply with federal law, especially those set forth in Sections 2 and 3. They are also issued very important guidance that may be intended to signal a move to abolish electronic voting:

The amended guidelines and other guidance shall provide that voting systems should not use a ballot in which a vote is contained within a barcode or quick-response code in the vote counting process except where necessary to accommodate individuals with disabilities and should provide a voter-verifiable paper record to prevent fraud or mistake.

Guess which state spits out coding unreadable to the human eye? This mess:

The EAC is also given 6 months to establish new voting system certification standards honoring the text of this order. This section makes it clear Trump is expecting the EAC to function as more than a “stuck in the middle” group of babysitters unable to take a stand against out-of-control toddlers.

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Section 5 – Prosecuting Election Crimes

Election crimes, you say? Trump begins the section by “affirming Americans’ right to participate in fair and honest elections.”

This portion empowers the Attorney General to team up with the states, by legal force if necessary, to amass all possible information pertaining to those committing election crimes, such as:

· Voting or registered to vote while not eligible to do so

· Committing election fraud (different than voter fraud)

· Interfering in the election process

Subsection B calls for the Attorney General to prioritize enforcement of federal election laws in states that aren’t willing to cooperate with the above, and to withhold grants until states come under compliance with the President’s order. This is a quick and to-the-point section that will quickly highlight the bad actors looking to dodge it. Using the power of the purse is always an effective way to deter malfeasance.

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Section 6 – Improving Security of Voting Systems

Section 6 is focused on “improving the security of all voting equipment and systems used to cast ballots, tabulate votes, and report results,” and empowers the Attorney General and Secretary of Homeland Security. Interestingly, the order reads, “…so long as the Department of Homeland Security maintains the designation of election infrastructure as critical infrastructure…”.

I have a gut feeling this first order, particularly in this section, is laying the framework for drastic change. I’ve seen a proposed executive order about electronic voting systems that the President has been given, and when I read subsection B of Section 6, in which the Secretary of Homeland Security and EAC are ordered to report on the security of electronic systems used in the voting process (including registration), I suspect sweeping change is around the corner.

“The Secretary of Homeland Security, as the head of the designated Sector Risk Management Agency under 6 U.S.C. 652a, in coordination with the Election Assistance Commission, shall assess the security of all such systems to the extent they are connected to, or integrated into, the Internet and report on the risk of such systems being compromised through malicious software and unauthorized intrusions into the system.”

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Section 7 – Compliance with Federal Law Setting the National Election Day

MEDGA? Make Election Day Great Again? This section is a 98-mph fastball down the middle saying, “we have a day for elections, now use it.” Trump’s order calls out the laws that forbid the acceptance of late ballots, which cost him the presidency in 2020, and directs the Attorney General to enforce those laws against states in violation of it. This means a lot of unhappy conversations are going on in:

· California

· Oregon

· Washington

· Arizona

· New York

· Nevada

· Pennsylvania

· Alaska

This section also directs the EAC to make funding available on honoring federal law regarding acceptance and counting of only ballots received by the legally allowable deadline. My suspicion is that federal agents will be required on site for elections in the offending states to ensure compliance.

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Section 8 – Preventing Foreign Interference and Unlawful Use of Federal Funds

The final four sections are very short. Section 8 directs the Attorney General to partner with the Secretary of the Treasury to stop foreign nationals from financially impacting American elections. Unfortunately for us, George Soros holds American citizenship and found someone willing to spread his DNA to future generations with Alexander, but this, if enforced, should put the clamps on some of the heavy influence tipping the scales in American elections, both in the selection of candidates and in the propagandizing of the public.

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Section 9 – Federal Actions to Address Executive Order 14019

Miller called this out as the President was signing this order – it is a full repeal of Biden’s 2021 executive order called, “Promoting Access to Voting.” Remember, when Democrats talk about access to voting, they want it to be as simple as possible to strap a low-information voter to a proverbial chair and extract a straight-ticket blue ballot out of that person. That’s why you have ballot harvesters authorized to go door to door, or from one Indian Reservation or college campus to another, to collect ballots for weeks on end. Biden’s order, which engaged the arms of government in voter registration efforts and other unnecessary tasks, was technically repealed on Trump’s first day in office, but this order formally puts the brakes on the tasks contained within EO 14019.

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Section 10 – Severability

An administrative formality, likely intended to protect the entire order in case a judge strikes down any portion of it, which is highly possible given that lawfare is the only option Democrats and the political elite of Washington have to slow Trump’s momentum.

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Section 11 – General Provisions

More legal language emphasizing the ability of agencies to function as intended and the legality of the order applicable to current laws.

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Captain K’s Verdict

My belief, especially since the President himself alluded to more actions to come within weeks, is that this order is intended to set the framework for bigger actions. Here are my top four takeaways from the order called, “Preserving and Protecting the Integrity of American Elections”:

· The opening section is powerful and conditions the reader to understand the grave threat facing our now-dilapidated system of elections. By emphasizing what other countries do well, Trump places the burden on his opponents to decry nations who run single-day elections and have very few mail-in ballots to defend a system here that a wide majority of voters hate and do not trust. Public trust and transparency are at the forefront of this order.

· Preventing illegals and noncitizens from voting is a good start, and one founded in common sense, but not comprehensive. It’s not that the illegals are voting, it’s that they are being voted for. Hopefully, future actions address the corruption of voter registration, particularly the Automatic brand of it, that furnishes hundreds of thousands of phantom voters in the key electoral states that can then be remotely turned out by mail or other methods given the lengthy voting window.

· By going after states that slow roll the count, a massive magnifying glass will now be over the worst offenders, such as California and Arizona. Slow counting is identified by our own government agencies as a key indicator that developing or third-world nations are rigging elections – but somehow that is forgotten here when they need Democrats to win seats. If you recall, two Republicans lost leads in U.S. House races in California in December in the last cycle, only to concede like dying dogs.

· Trump appears ready to spring the trap on electronic voting, as evidenced by his directives for the DHS and EAC to fully investigate the vulnerabilities and threats posed by electronic voting (to include software) in consideration of existing directives surrounding threats to “critical infrastructure.”

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This order is a strong response and upholds our trust that Trump knows the true story of the election picture in this country. His words, while signing the order, suggest he knows he should have won a much bigger landslide than he did in November, and that there is indeed a mandate to fix the broken elections that so many in political circles wish to move on from. Now watch for the activist courts to get involved and pray they are overturned if and when that happens.

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Seth Keshel, MBA, is a former Army Captain of Military Intelligence and Afghanistan veteran. His analytical method of election forecasting and analytics is known worldwide, and he has been commended by President Donald J. Trump for his work in the field.