Executive Order 14399: Citizenship Verification for Federal Elections and New Mail-In Ballot Rules

Greg V
Apr 6
5 min read

On March 31, 2026, President Trump signed Executive Order 14399, "Ensuring Citizenship Verification and Integrity in Federal Elections," published in the Federal Register on April 3, 2026. The order directs the Department of Homeland Security and the Social Security Administration to build state-by-state lists of confirmed U.S. citizens eligible to vote and orders the U.S. Postal Service to begin a notice-and-comment rulemaking that would reshape how mail-in and absentee ballots are handled. For naturalized citizens, lawful permanent residents, and mixed-status families, this order deserves close attention.

What the Order Does

EO 14399 invokes the President's authority under the Help America Vote Act of 2002, the National Voter Registration Act of 1993, and Article IV, Section 4 of the Constitution (the Guarantee Clause). It has two operational halves.

1. State Citizenship Lists

Section 2 directs the Secretary of Homeland Security, through the Director of USCIS and in coordination with the Commissioner of SSA, to compile and transmit to each state's chief election official a "State Citizenship List" of individuals confirmed as U.S. citizens who will be 18 or older by the next upcoming federal election and who reside in that state. The list is to be derived from federal citizenship and naturalization records, SSA records, SAVE data, and other relevant federal databases. It must be updated and transmitted no fewer than 60 days before each regularly scheduled federal election, and promptly on request for special elections.

DHS is given 90 days to stand up the underlying infrastructure and must designate a point of contact to receive and process requests from individuals and state officials. The order expressly states that inclusion on a State Citizenship List does not mean an individual is registered to vote — state procedures still apply. Individuals are supposed to be able to access, update, or correct their records, and states may supplement or propose amendments to the list.

Section 2(b) also directs the Attorney General to prioritize investigations and prosecutions of state and local election officials (and others involved in federal election administration) who issue federal ballots to individuals not eligible to vote, citing 18 U.S.C. 2(a), 241, 371, 611(a), 1001, 1015, and 52 U.S.C. 10307 and 20511.

2. USPS Mail-In Ballot Rulemaking

Section 3 directs the Postmaster General to initiate a proposed rulemaking within 60 days and issue a final rule within 120 days. The NPRM must address, at minimum: (i) all outbound ballot mail being sent in envelopes marked as Official Election Mail, carrying a unique Intelligent Mail barcode, and passing USPS design review; (ii) a process for states to notify USPS at least 90 days before a federal election if they want USPS to transmit mail-in ballots, and to submit at least 60 days before the election a list of eligible voters; (iii) a rule that USPS will not transmit mail-in or absentee ballots to anyone not enrolled on a state-specific list; and (iv) USPS returning to each state a "Mail-In and Absentee Participation List" with unique ballot envelope identifiers.

Enforcement Teeth

Section 5 backs the order with real enforcement pressure. It directs the Attorney General and agency heads to take "all lawful steps" to deter noncompliance, including withholding federal funds from noncompliant states and localities where withholding is authorized by law. It also instructs states and localities to preserve, for five years, all records and materials (excluding cast ballots) evidencing voter participation in federal elections, including ballot envelopes. In other words, states that refuse to participate face the prospect of losing federal dollars and heightened DOJ scrutiny.

Why This Matters for Immigrants and Naturalized Citizens

The State Citizenship List is built from DHS and SSA records, which are not perfect. Naturalized citizens, in particular, have long experienced data mismatches when federal systems are used to verify eligibility. Someone who naturalized recently, changed their name on naturalization, or whose A-number was never correctly linked to their Social Security record can appear in a federal database as a noncitizen even though they are fully a U.S. citizen. If that kind of mismatch feeds a state's voter eligibility review, naturalized citizens risk being flagged, challenged, or purged from voter rolls.

The SAVE system, which the order directs DHS to draw from, was built to verify immigration status for public benefits, not to adjudicate voter eligibility. Advocacy groups and election officials have documented longstanding accuracy problems when SAVE is used at scale for list-matching. The order includes a correction mechanism, but the practical burden of fixing a bad record typically falls on the individual voter, who may not learn of the problem until Election Day.

Legal Challenges Already Filed

Within 48 hours of signing, multiple lawsuits were filed. Democratic congressional leaders filed one challenge; two coalitions of voter advocacy groups filed their own. The central legal argument is that the Constitution gives the states, not the President, primary authority to set the "Times, Places and Manner" of federal elections under Article I, Section 4, with Congress (not the executive) holding override authority. Election law scholars, including UCLA's Rick Hasen, have publicly called the order likely unconstitutional. Several state attorneys general have signaled they will refuse to comply with portions of the order, and additional state-led litigation is expected.

The USPS rulemaking raises its own issues. USPS has historically stayed out of voter-eligibility determinations, and turning it into a gatekeeper that delivers ballots only to people on a state-certified list has no clear statutory footing. That new role is a central focus of the pending lawsuits.

What Naturalized Citizens Should Do Now

Keep a copy of your Certificate of Naturalization and your most recent U.S. passport accessible. If a state challenges your citizenship based on a DHS or SSA record, documentary proof resolves most disputes quickly.
Confirm that the Social Security Administration has your citizenship status updated. If you naturalized and have not updated SSA since, visit your local SSA office or submit Form SS-5 to reflect U.S. citizenship.
Check your voter registration record on your state's election website well before the next federal election. If you are flagged, challenged, or removed, act immediately rather than waiting until Election Day.
If you vote by mail, watch for notices about your state's Mail-in and Absentee Participation List. Mail-in ballot procedures may change significantly before November 2026 depending on how the USPS rulemaking and the litigation resolve.

Our View

Executive Order 14399 raises serious constitutional questions that will be answered in the courts over the coming months. But the administrative machinery it launches — pulling data from DHS, SSA, and SAVE to build state voter lists — is already being built on a 90-day clock. Naturalized citizens and their families should not assume they are insulated from errors. Keep your documents current, keep copies accessible, and contact our office if you encounter any issue with your registration or your ability to vote because of a citizenship-status dispute.

*This post is for general information only and is not legal advice. Contact Vartanian Law Firm to discuss your specific situation.