Why It Matters
Federal elections policy is increasingly shaped by executive action rather than legislation, according to a new Congressional Research Service report. Since March 2025, the executive branch has issued multiple executive orders directing more than 20 federal agencies to take roles in campaigns and elections policy, creating a patchwork of new rules on voter registration, citizenship verification, ballot handling, and election security funding. Both Executive Order 14248 and Executive Order 14399 have been subject to litigation, and the Election Assistance Commission currently has no commissioners in office while the Federal Election Commission has only two of its required commissioners.
The administration's election policies remain largely unimplemented due to court challenges, yet some are still moving forward. Congress, meanwhile, has passed limited election-related legislation, leaving most authority in executive hands as the general election approaches.
The Big Picture
Executive Order 14248, published on March 28, 2025, directed the Election Assistance Commission, Department of Homeland Security, Department of Justice, Social Security Administration, and Department of Defense to act on voter registration verification, proof of citizenship requirements, election security funding conditions, and enforcement of foreign-national campaign finance prohibitions. A second executive order, 14399, published on April 3, 2026, tasked the Department of Homeland Security, Department of Justice, and U.S. Postal Service with creating a State Citizenship List and initiating rulemaking on mail-in ballot handling.
Both have faced litigation. The U.S. Postal Service published a final rule on August 26, 2026 governing outbound ballots for federal general elections, but the U.S. Supreme Court denied a government stay request on September 14, effectively blocking the rule for the 2026 elections.
The Department of Homeland Security and Department of Justice have conducted joint investigations into alleged voter fraud and noncitizen voting, with the Justice Department demanding state voter-roll data and filing suit in some cases. Federal law enforcement agents appeared at polling places during 2026 primary elections. On September 1, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Mullin stated that agency personnel could respond to polling places for specific threats or to serve warrants. The Department of Justice plans to send approximately 1,000 personnel to observe polling places during the 2026 general election.
The Election Assistance Commission currently has no commissioners in office. The Federal Election Commission has only two of its required commissioners, with two Federal Election Commission nominations pending in the Senate. In July, the Department of Homeland Security announced that the Federal Emergency Management Agency would withhold 20 percent of Homeland Security Grant Program funding unless states took specified election administration actions, including using the USCIS SAVE database to verify citizenship of voters on state rolls, a condition that has been subject to litigation.
Congress has not significantly amended federal election law during the 119th Congress. Legislation proposing prohibitions on federal agencies providing funds to certain voter registration entities has not substantially advanced beyond introduction, as has legislation proposing new agencies or requiring congressional approval for certain agency actions. The House has passed versions of the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE America Act) as an amendment to S. 1383 and passed legislation concerning campaign finance filing requirements that could affect Federal Election Commission processes.
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