US election officials question agency about Trump's order overhauling election operations

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — State and local election officials from around the country on Thursday questioned the leaders of a federal agency directed by President Donald Trump to implement parts of his sweeping election overhaul executive order, with some expressing concerns about the consequences for voters and the people in charge of voting.

The U.S. Election Assistance Commission, an independent and bipartisan federal agency, is at the center of Trump’s March 25 order that directs the commission to update the national voter registration form to include a proof-of-citizenship requirement and revise guidelines for voting systems. Trump also wants it to withhold federal money from any state that continues to accept ballots after Election Day even if they are postmarked by then.

Whether the Republican president can order an independent agency to act and whether the commission has the authority to do what Trump wants will likely be settled in court.

A federal judge on Thursday issued a preliminary injunction blocking the proof-of-citizenship requirement from moving forward while the legal challenges over Trump’s executive order play out.

Meanwhile, members of the commission’s Standards Board – a bipartisan advisory group of election officials from every state – met in North Carolina for its annual meeting. It was among the first conversations held by those who oversee the nation’s voting on the implications of Trump’s executive order.

The meeting was an opportunity for election officials to ask the four EAC commissioners about Trump’s executive order and share their concerns about its effects on election administration and voting.

“I can see on your faces there’s a lot of concern in this room for this process and other aspects of it,” Commissioner Thomas Hicks said. “And I would highly encourage you to send comments to us on that.”

An election official from Utah raised concern about how Native American communities might be affected under a proof-of-citizenship requirement, while an election official from Florida asked how voting machine companies could be expected to respond when a voting system has yet to be certified to meet the latest guidelines, which were updated in 2021.

“And they’re going to what — ramp up production and provide voting equipment for all 50 states and five territories?” asked Paul Lux, elections supervisor in Okaloosa County.

Donald Palmer, chair of the Election Assistance Commission, sought to reassure election officials that the commission would weigh their concerns and encouraged them to continue sharing their thoughts.

“Wherever we end up in this process, my goal is to provide the least disruption to the states, to mitigate any impact on you and your voting systems,” Palmer told the group.

The court ruling temporarily blocking the commission from taking steps to implement the proof-of-citizenship requirement came in a consolidated group of lawsuits filed by voting rights groups and Democrats that challenged Trump's authority to order election changes.

“Our Constitution entrusts Congress and the States—not the President—with the authority to regulate federal elections,” wrote U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly in the opinion.

The judge noted Congress was currently debating legislation on a proof-of-citizenship requirement when registering to vote in federal elections and “no statutory delegation of authority to the Executive Branch permits the President to short-circuit Congress’s deliberative process by executive order.”

In response to the court ruling, Palmer said the agency would comply and was “committed to serving election officials and voters."

Maine's chief election official, Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, was at Thursday's meeting in North Carolina and welcomed the judge's decision.

“Everyone agrees that only citizens should vote in federal elections," said Bellows, a Democrat. "And the Trump executive order was an unworkable and unconstitutional attempt to limit voting rights.”

Two separate groups of Democratic state officials have also filed lawsuits, and those cases are pending.

The Constitution says it’s up to states to determine the “times, places and manner” of how elections are run, while Congress has the power to “make or alter” regulations for presidential and congressional elections. It does not grant the president any authority over how elections are administered.

Congress created the Election Assistance Commission after the 2000 presidential election, which included a contested outcome in Florida, to help states update their voting equipment.

Under the 2002 law, the commission was charged with distributing federal money for new voting equipment, creating voluntary guidelines for voting systems, establishing a federal testing and certification program for them, and overseeing the national voter registration form. It also has worked closely with the states to gather an array of data and share ideas on how to run elections more efficiently.

Trump, who continues to make false claims about the 2020 presidential election, instructed the commission to “take appropriate action” within 30 days to require documentary proof of citizenship on the national voter registration form. The order outlines acceptable documents as a U.S. passport, a REAL ID-compliant driver’s license or official military ID that “indicates the applicant is a citizen,” or a government-issued photo ID accompanied by proof of citizenship.

Both the process for updating the national voter registration form and making changes to the nation’s voluntary voting system guidelines are outlined in federal law. For the form, that involves getting feedback from state election officials and from the agency’s advisory boards. The process for the voting system guidelines also includes a period for public comment and a hearing.

The requirement has caused widespread concern that it will disenfranchise millions of voters who don’t have a passport or ready access to their birth certificate or other documents that will prove their citizenship. Similar laws at the state level have caused disruptions, including during town elections last month in New Hampshire and in Kansas, where a since overturned law ended up blocking the voter registrations of 31,000 people who were citizens and otherwise eligible to vote.

Trump’s order also directed the Election Assistance Commission to “take all appropriate action to cease” federal money for any state that fails to use the form that includes the proof-of-citizenship requirement, though a handful of states are exempt under federal law from using the national form.

Some states would have to halt their practice of counting late-arriving mail ballots that are postmarked by Election Day. If they don’t, Trump’s executive order directs the commission to withhold election-related funding. Oregon and Washington have filed a separate lawsuit against the executive order, saying it would upend their elections because they rely entirely on mail voting.

Commissioner Thomas Hicks speaks during the U.S. Election Assistance Commission Standards Board in-person public meeting, Thursday, April 24, 2025, in Charlotte, N.C. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)

Commissioner Thomas Hicks speaks during the U.S. Election Assistance Commission Standards Board in-person public meeting, Thursday, April 24, 2025, in Charlotte, N.C. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)

Commissioner Thomas Hicks takes a picture during the U.S. Election Assistance Commission Standards Board in-person public meeting, Thursday, April 24, 2025, in Charlotte, N.C. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)

Commissioner Donald Palmer speaks during a U.S. Election Assistance Commission Standards Board in-person public meeting, Thursday, April 24, 2025, in Charlotte, N.C. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)

A meeting goer arrives for a U.S. Election Assistance Commission Standards Board in-person public meeting, Thursday, April 24, 2025, in Charlotte, N.C. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump said Iran wants to negotiate with Washington after his threat to strike the Islamic Republic over its bloody crackdown on protesters, a move coming as activists said Monday the death toll in the nationwide demonstrations rose to at least 544.

Iran had no immediate reaction to the news, which came after the foreign minister of Oman — long an interlocutor between Washington and Tehran — traveled to Iran this weekend. It also remains unclear just what Iran could promise, particularly as Trump has set strict demands over its nuclear program and its ballistic missile arsenal, which Tehran insists is crucial for its national defense.

Meanwhile Monday, Iran called for pro-government demonstrators to head to the streets in support of the theocracy, a show of force after days of protests directly challenging the rule of 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iranian state television aired chants from the crowd, who shouted “Death to America!” and “Death to Israel!”

Trump and his national security team have been weighing a range of potential responses against Iran including cyberattacks and direct strikes by the U.S. or Israel, according to two people familiar with internal White House discussions who were not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

“The military is looking at it, and we’re looking at some very strong options,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One on Sunday night. Asked about Iran’s threats of retaliation, he said: “If they do that, we will hit them at levels that they’ve never been hit before.”

Trump said that his administration was in talks to set up a meeting with Tehran, but cautioned that he may have to act first as reports of the death toll in Iran mount and the government continues to arrest protesters.

“I think they’re tired of being beat up by the United States,” Trump said. “Iran wants to negotiate.”

He added: “The meeting is being set up, but we may have to act because of what’s happening before the meeting. But a meeting is being set up. Iran called, they want to negotiate.”

Iran through country's parliamentary speaker warned Sunday that the U.S. military and Israel would be “legitimate targets” if America uses force to protect demonstrators.

More than 10,600 people also have been detained over the two weeks of protests, said the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, which has been accurate in previous unrest in recent years and gave the death toll. It relies on supporters in Iran crosschecking information. It said 496 of the dead were protesters and 48 were with security forces.

With the internet down in Iran and phone lines cut off, gauging the demonstrations from abroad has grown more difficult. The Associated Press has been unable to independently assess the toll. Iran’s government has not offered overall casualty figures.

Those abroad fear the information blackout is emboldening hard-liners within Iran’s security services to launch a bloody crackdown. Protesters flooded the streets in the country’s capital and its second-largest city on Saturday night into Sunday morning. Online videos purported to show more demonstrations Sunday night into Monday, with a Tehran official acknowledging them in state media.

In Tehran, a witness told the AP that the streets of the capital empty at the sunset call to prayers each night. By the Isha, or nighttime prayer, the streets are deserted.

Part of that stems from the fear of getting caught in the crackdown. Police sent the public a text message that warned: “Given the presence of terrorist groups and armed individuals in some gatherings last night and their plans to cause death, and the firm decision to not tolerate any appeasement and to deal decisively with the rioters, families are strongly advised to take care of their youth and teenagers.”

Another text, which claimed to come from the intelligence arm of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, also directly warned people not to take part in demonstrations.

“Dear parents, in view of the enemy’s plan to increase the level of naked violence and the decision to kill people, ... refrain from being on the streets and gathering in places involved in violence, and inform your children about the consequences of cooperating with terrorist mercenaries, which is an example of treason against the country,” the text warned.

The witness spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity due to the ongoing crackdown.

The demonstrations began Dec. 28 over the collapse of the Iranian rial currency, which trades at over 1.4 million to $1, as the country’s economy is squeezed by international sanctions in part levied over its nuclear program. The protests intensified and grew into calls directly challenging Iran’s theocracy.

Nikhinson reported from aboard Air Force One.

In this frame grab from video obtained by the AP outside Iran, a masked demonstrator holds a picture of Iran's Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi during a protest in Tehran, Iran, Friday, January. 9, 2026. (UGC via AP)

In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran shows protesters taking to the streets despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026.(UGC via AP)

In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran showed protesters once again taking to the streets of Tehran despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Saturday Jan. 10, 2026. (UGC via AP)