FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 26, 2025

California Secretary of State Shirley N. Weber, Ph.D., Issues Statement Regarding President Trump’s March 25, 2025 Executive Order

Sacramento, Calif. – California Secretary of State Shirley N. Weber, Ph.D., issued the following statement in response to President Trump’s executive order entitled “Preserving and Protecting the Integrity of American Elections” :

President Trump’s executive order “Preserving and Protecting the Integrity of American Elections” does nothing of the sort. Instead, it is a calculated and dramatic assault on every American’s right to vote.

Sixty years ago yesterday, Martin Luther King Jr. led the historic march from Selma to the state capitol in Montgomery, Alabama, marking a pivotal moment in our nation's quest for voting rights. National outrage over discriminatory voting practices and massive public support of the march led to the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 later that year, which eliminated the most restrictive obstacles to voting. Today, we face a similar crossroads in our collective fight to preserve voting rights for all Americans. 

Trump’s illegal executive order instead aims to deny hundreds of millions of Americans access to the ballot box by making it costly and burdensome to register to vote and cast a ballot. Under the guise of protecting Americans from voter fraud, this unprecedented and reckless interference into state election processes is premised on a widely debunked myth of massive non-citizen voting. Make no mistake, President Trump, through this action, shows that he fears voters and America's longstanding principles of democracy. As California Secretary of State, I will do all in my power to ensure that all eligible Californians can freely and securely participate in our democracy.

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