‘So dumb’: Donald Trump says you’ll now need to prove you exist to vote

Donald Trump, a man who has spent years denying the existence of facts, now wants you to prove you exist. Irony just packed its bags and left the building.

Trump’s announcement declared his intent to issue an executive order requiring voter ID for every American. He also threw in a ban on mail-in voting—except for the “very ill” and military personnel stationed far away—while simultaneously doubling down on his long-standing crusade to eliminate electronic voting machines in favor of paper ballots. If this sounds like a dystopian sequel to The Art of the Deal, you’re not alone.

Trump’s obsession with voter ID and mail-in ballots isn’t new. It’s been his rallying cry ever since he lost the 2020 election and decided that the only plausible explanation for his defeat was widespread voter fraud. Never mind that his own Department of Justice found no evidence of such fraud, or that court after court—including judges he appointed—dismissed his claims as baseless. Facts have never been Trump’s strong suit, and his voter fraud narrative has become less about evidence and more about stoking fear.

What’s particularly galling is that voter fraud in the United States is exceedingly rare. A 2017 study by the Brennan Center for Justice found that the rate of voter fraud is between 0.00004% and 0.0009%. To put that in perspective, you’re more likely to be struck by lightning than to encounter a fraudulent ballot. Yet here we are, four years after the “Big Lie,” with Trump still using fear of non-existent fraud to propose sweeping changes to how Americans vote.

Let’s talk about this voter ID requirement. On the surface, it might seem reasonable—after all, don’t you need an ID to buy alcohol or board a plane? But voting is not a privilege like flying first class or sipping a margarita; it’s a fundamental right. And the reality is that millions of Americans lack government-issued photo IDs. According to a 2021 study by the National Bureau of Economic Research, roughly 11% of U.S. citizens — disproportionately low-income individuals, people of color, and the elderly — don’t have a valid photo ID. For these individuals, obtaining one isn’t just a matter of filling out a form; it can require travel, money, and time that many simply don’t have. 

And what about rural voters? Imagine telling a farmer in the middle of Wyoming to drive 100 miles to the nearest DMV just to prove they exist. Or asking an 85-year-old grandmother in Alabama, who’s been voting in every election since Eisenhower, to navigate bureaucratic hoops just to cast a ballot. It’s a suppression wrapped in the guise of bureaucracy. But democracy isn’t about one man’s terms. It’s about the collective will of the people. And no amount of executive orders, fear-mongering, or Truth Social rants can change that.