Preserving and Protecting Power: What the 3/25 Executive Order Means
This isn’t about safety — it’s about control. From censorship to surveillance, here’s how authoritarian power preserves itself.
📣 Signal Dispatch — Signals from the field
Read the full executive order: Preserving and Protecting the Integrity of American Elections (White House, 2025)
On March 25, 2025, the White House issued a sweeping executive order under the banner of “election integrity.” Officially titled “Preserving and Protecting the Integrity of American Elections,” it outlines new mandates for voter registration, mail-in ballots, federal election oversight, and technology certification—reversing multiple prior efforts that had expanded access to the ballot box.
The order’s language is careful. It promises to secure elections, safeguard trust, and streamline national standards. But beneath the surface lies a set of coordinated restrictions that could quietly disenfranchise millions of voters, especially those already navigating systemic obstacles.
Here’s what the order actually says—and what it could mean for the future of U.S. democracy.
1️. Proof of Citizenship Now Required to Register
For the first time at the federal level, voters must present documentary proof of U.S. citizenship—such as a birth certificate, passport, or naturalization papers—when registering to vote.
⚠️ Implications:
Over 21 million voting-age citizens lack immediate access to these documents. This group disproportionately includes elderly Americans, low-income individuals, people born outside hospitals or in rural areas, and racial minorities (Brennan Center).
Naturalized citizens often face months-long delays and high replacement fees when requesting proof.
Local officials will now be responsible for verifying a wide range of documentation, potentially causing massive administrative backlogs and unequal enforcement.
2️. Expanded Federal Oversight of Voter Rolls
The order empowers the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) to coordinate with states to audit voter rolls. Officials claim the goal is to remove ineligible voters and ensure accuracy.
⚠️ Concerns:
Federal overreach: Elections have historically been administered by states. Centralizing control may impose standardized procedures that ignore local nuance.
Error-prone data matching: In past attempts to "clean" rolls, voters with common names or clerical discrepancies were often wrongly purged—especially those from communities of color (Brennan Center).
Reduced trust: Even well-intentioned audits risk shaking public confidence if voters are wrongly flagged or removed without notice.
3️. Mail-In Ballots Must Arrive by Election Day
The executive order eliminates the longstanding practice in many states of counting mail-in ballots that are postmarked by Election Day but arrive shortly after.
⚠️ Disenfranchisement Risks:
Voters stationed abroad—especially military personnel—may see their ballots invalidated due to mail delays.
Rural residents and elderly voters often depend on slower delivery systems.
States that previously allowed grace periods will now be in conflict with federal deadlines, triggering litigation and confusion.
4️. Voting Machines with QR Codes Face Decertification
The order directs the Election Assistance Commission (EAC) to review and potentially decertify machines that use non-human-readable elements like barcodes or QR codes for tabulation.
⚠️ Disruption and Cost:
States may be forced to replace entire voting systems just months before the 2026 midterms, risking chaos and budget overruns (Verified Voting).
Sudden shifts in election technology can reduce voter confidence, particularly if new systems appear rushed or poorly explained.
5️. Rollback of Voter Access Initiatives
In a broad reversal, the order rescinds past executive actions that allowed federal agencies—like the Department of Veterans Affairs, Social Security Administration, and public housing offices—to facilitate voter registration.
⚠️ Reduced Access:
These programs helped streamline registration for veterans, seniors, disabled individuals, and low-income Americans.
Without these access points, registration becomes more complicated—especially for people with limited mobility or internet access.
This Isn’t About Security. It’s About Control.
On its surface, the March 25 order reads like policy housekeeping. But when taken together, the provisions suggest a coordinated effort to:
Shrink the electorate under the guise of fraud prevention.
Centralize power in federal agencies.
Undermine voter access in ways most likely to affect the young, the poor, the elderly, and the politically vulnerable.
We’ve seen this story before. Not with tanks in the streets—but with legal shifts, bureaucratic hurdles, and calculated changes to public systems.
In How To Lose Everything Without Even Trying, we outlined how modern authoritarianism consolidates power through exhaustion, confusion, and legal redefinition. This executive order is a textbook case.
🔥 What Can You Do? (In Addition to Calling Your Rep)
One of the most paralyzing myths is that the only way to resist political overreach is to call your elected official. While that can be helpful, it's not the only tool—and often, it’s not the most effective.
Here’s what else resistance can look like:
📚 Narrative Defense: Share What’s Really Happening
Talk to people in your life who don’t follow policy news. Break it down clearly, calmly, and with respect.
Share this blog post, and What Are We Supposed To Do?—our free field guide for sustained cultural resistance.
🗂️ Start Local Voter Access Projects
Offer document support. Help others get IDs or replacement citizenship paperwork.
Create and distribute printed guides explaining changes in mail-in deadlines or ID requirements in your state.
🛠️ Build Local Watch Groups
Monitor voter roll purges, registration denials, or polling place closures in your community.
Partner with mutual aid groups to offer transportation, language access, and registration support.
🔒 Prepare for More Disruptions
Learn about your state’s voter registration deadlines and ID requirements—and help others do the same.
Save copies of your voter registration status and track deadlines with nonpartisan tools like nass.org/Can-I-Vote.
📘 Ready to Go Deeper?
Read What Are We Supposed To Do? This free community guide breaks down how power consolidates and what resistance looks like—beyond outrage, hashtags, or helplessness.
It includes:
Tools for narrative resistance
Steps for building economic & community-based resilience
Mental health strategies to avoid burnout and despair
Practical frameworks like WOOP (Wish, Outcome, Obstacle, Plan) for turning intention into sustainable action
📖 Download it for free on our Ko‑fi page.
🚨 This Is a Test Run for 2026 and 2028
The courts will likely weigh in before this executive order shapes the next major election—but by then, the damage may already be done.
Every provision of this order sends a signal:
If you don’t have the right papers, the right ZIP code, or the right level of privilege, your vote might not count.
We must send a stronger signal in return:
You are not alone. You are not powerless. And your voice matters—even when the system is built to make you believe it doesn’t.
The Bottom Line
This order narrows access.
It undermines democracy.
And it sets the stage for future suppression.
But it’s not too late. The groundwork for resistance must be laid now—not in the heat of a future crisis, but in the quiet before the storm.
Freedom is a practice. Resistance is an ecosystem.
Let’s get to work.
💡 Learn More
Brennan Center for Justice:
Verified Voting:
American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU):
Center for American Progress:
Associated Press:
You are the signal.
Keep your torchlight burning.
Explore more from Torch & Tinder Press
📣 Signal Dispatch — Signals from the field (you’re here)
🔧 Torchlight Praxis — Tools you can carry
🔥 Embers — Warmth for the long winter
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