AARO and U.S. Vote Foundation Announce Action to Condemn Executive Order on Mail-In Ballots

WASHINGTON - April 3, 2026 - PRLog -- The Association of Americans Resident Overseas (AARO), together with the U.S. Vote Foundation, today announced its participation in a coalition of voting rights groups that filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts challenging President Trump's March 31 Executive Order regarding mail-in voting. The other plaintiffs are the League of Women Voters of Massachusetts, the League of Women Voters, OCA - Asian Pacific American Advocates (OCA), and Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. AARO and U.S. Vote Foundation are represented by the Brennan Center for Justice.

The Constitution explicitly states that only Congress and the states can define the rules and make laws regarding elections. The executive order suggests an unworkable system that would threaten disenfranchisement of mail ballot voters. It instructs the Department of Homeland Security to build a nationwide list of citizens eligible to vote and the U.S. Postal Service to transition from a neutral mail carrier to an arbiter of who may cast a ballot by mail. Federal databases are out-of-date and unreliable, making these demands all the more unachievable. The new system suggested in the order would result in the disenfranchisement of mail-in ballot voters and in particular, overseas citizens and military voters.

In the suit, the plaintiffs urge the court to declare the executive order unlawful and to enjoin its implementation.

"The U.S. Constitution is clear: the states and Congress, not the Executive Branch, set the rules for our elections," said Doris Speer, President of AARO. "This executive order would upend laws and procedures regarding absentee voting, create chaos for election officials and risk mass disenfranchisement of Americans overseas, blocking them from exercising their most fundamental right and responsibility as citizens — voting."

"Mail voting is secure, reliable, and widely used across the United States. Documented cases of non-citizen voting are exceedingly rare and do not justify this Executive Order. Instead of solving a real problem, it adds unnecessary complexity, cost, and uncertainty. Most seriously, it threatens U.S. citizens living overseas and uniformed service members, whose already time-sensitive voting process depends on efficient mail systems. These new requirements risk making it impossible for many of these voters to successfully cast a ballot," stated Susan Dzieduszycka-Suinat, President and CEO, U.S. Vote Foundation.

About AARO: The Association of Americans Resident Overseas (AARO), founded in 1973 and headquartered in Paris, is a global, non-partisan, non-profit association with members in over 45 countries that seeks fair treatment by the U.S. government for Americans abroad by advocating the issues that negatively affect their lives. AARO also informs its members of their rights and responsibilities as American citizens. For more information, please email us at contact@aaro.org or see   https://aaro.org/.

About U.S. Vote Foundation: U.S. Vote Foundation is a non-profit, non-partisan 501(c)3 organization that works to facilitate and increase participation of U.S. domestic, overseas, and military voters worldwide through streamlined voter registration and absentee ballot request services, civic data, technology development, and access to personalized voter information services. Overseas Vote and US.VOTE are signature initiatives of U.S. Vote Foundation.

Association of Americans Resident Overseas
Website: https://aaro.org
Contact: AARO Office
Phone: +33 (0)1 4720 2415
Email: contact@aaro.org

U.S. Vote Foundation
usvotefoundation.org | overseasvotefoundation.org
Contact: Susan Dzieduszycka-Suinat;
Phone: +1 (202) 470-2480
Email: info@usvotefoundation.org