The order says voters must provide proof of US citizenship and only ballots received by Election Day will be counted. United States President Donald Trump has signed a new executive order that he argues is aimed at tightening election rules ahead of the 2026 midterms, touching upon a claim he has frequently made – without evidence – of large-scale election fraud. Titled “Preserving and Protecting the Integrity of American Elections,” the new order introduces strict new requirements that voters must meet in order to cast their ballot. Here is what we know: To prevent non-Americans from voting in a federal election – an act that is already illegal and punishable by prison time and deportation – the order requires voters to submit official proof of US citizenship, such as a US passport or a birth certificate. Federal agencies, including the Department of Homeland Security, will be required to share data to help state officials identify non-citizens on voter rolls. However, voting rights groups have raised concerns that the citizenship requirements could lead to voter disenfranchisement. “This would prevent only a tiny amount of noncitizen voter registration but stop millions of eligible voters, who do not have easy access to documents such as passports, from registering to vote,” Richard Hasen, an election law expert at the University of California, Los Angeles, said in a blog post. There are also concerns that married women who have changed their last names may face difficulties registering to vote, as their birth certificates reflect their maiden names. The advocacy group Public Citizen pointed out that roughly 146 million Americans do not have a passport. Now Trump wants to make it HARDER to vote if your name doesn’t exactly match on every doc?? That hits married folks who change their names, disaster survivors who lost paperwork, and so many others. This ain’t about security—it’s suppression. https://t.co/n7qYiN1i7O — Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett (@RepJasmine) March 26, 2025 All mail ballots are required to be received by Election Day to be counted according to the executive order, aiming to standardise the voting process across states. ​ Across the country, states currently have wide latitude to administer elections differently – but none allow votes to be counted if they are cast after Election Day. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, a nonprofit organisation, 18 states, including battleground states, currently accept mail-in ballots that arrive after Election Day, provided they are postmarked on or before that day. California, the most populous state in the country, is often cited for its prolonged vote-counting process – it allows ballots to be counted up to seven days after the election, as long as they were postmarked by Election Day. States that do not comply with some of these new requirements risk losing federal election funding. ​ “The Attorney General shall take appropriate action against states that count ballots received after Election Day in Federal elections. Federal election funding will be conditioned on compliance,” the executive order says. This could place significant financial pressure on states, especially those that currently allow more flexible voting procedures. Electoral campaign financing happens at the federal, state and local levels, with funding coming from individuals, corporations, political action committees (PACs), and, in some cases, government. ​In March 2024, the US Congress allocated $55m in new federal funding to states under the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) to enhance the administration and security of federal elections. ​ This funding was distributed among all US states and territories based on a predetermined formula, which considers factors such as the size of the voting-age population. Trump’s order also instructs the Secretary of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem, to ensure that states have access to systems capable of verifying the citizenship or immigration status of individuals registering to vote. It also directs the Department of Homeland Security, along with an official from the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency, to review state voter registration lists – and, if needed, use subpoenas – to ensure compliance with federal standards. “DOGE certainly has no power to kick people off rolls. But they could make a lot of noise trying to claim they’ve found fraud when they find that voter registration rolls are not being kept up to date,” Richard Hasen wrote. President Trump signs executive order on election integrity, which will include putting a citizenship question on the federal voting form. pic.twitter.com/dcUmya6Z8y — CSPAN (@cspan) March 25, 2025 Trump’s order is likely to face legal challenges, given that the Constitution gives authority over elections to the states. Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes said he and state Attorney General Kris Mayes are already in discussions about a possible lawsuit, describing the executive order as “an attempt to federalise elections”. Fontes said that the order appears aimed at creating the illusion of misconduct in the electoral process, potentially to justify “cancelling the election later”. “It’s very methodical, and very, very dangerous,” he said in an interview with Votebeat , a nonprofit, nonpartisan newsroom focused specifically on US elections, on Tuesday. “You have to pay attention not to what the executive order says, but what the end game may be. I believe the end game may be that Donald Trump wants to stay in office in perpetuity.” Conservative groups, including the Heritage Foundation, praised the order. “President Trump is finally taking the action long needed to put the resources of federal agencies like the Departments of Homeland Security and Justice to work helping states, instead of trying to hinder their efforts to reform our election process, which was an unfortunate hallmark of the Biden administration,” Hans von Spakovsky, who leads the Heritage Foundation’s Election Law Reform Initiative wrote in a statement. Trump has often questioned the outcomes of elections that have not gone his way, including his 2020 defeat to former US President Joe Biden, which he falsely attributed to widespread voting irregularities. Follow Al Jazeera English:...

A severe gridlock that left commuters stranded for several hours following the closure of Independence Bridge in the Falomo area of Lagos State on Wednesday has left commuters with bitter tales, JOHNSON IDOWU and DAYO OYEWO write Commuters and motorists in Lagos endured hours of gridlock on Wednesday till the wee hours of Thursday following the closure of the Independence Bridge located in the Falomo area of Lagos State for maintenance and rehabilitation. The Federal Controller of Works in Lagos State, Olukorede Kesha, had disclosed on Monday in a statement that the bridge would remain closed until the end of May 2025. According to her, the closure would affect traffic travelling from the Ahmadu Bello Way and Adeola Odeku towards Marina, Eko Bridge, and Onikan by Zone 2 Police Command headquarters. Kesha had advised motorists to plan their journeys accordingly and use alternative routes to avoid traffic congestion during the repair period. She had also apologised for any inconvenience the closure might cause and thanked the public for their understanding and cooperation as the government worked to ensure the safety and stability of the road infrastructure. However, the closure led to immediate and severe traffic congestion across Lagos Island as commuters reported being stranded for hours, with some resorting to alternative means of transportation, such as ferries, to bypass the gridlock, while motorists expressed frustration over the lack of adequate traffic management measures. The combination of plans to begin the repair work and early morning rain in some parts of Lagos threw Lagos Island frequenters into chaos. Traffic snarls caused slow movement, delaying people from getting to work early on Thursday. Many had to trek long distances, just as motorists couldn’t make much progress as the busy Victoria Island and Ikoyi areas were the worst hit, with most streets suffering from the gridlock. Among the ugly tales that followed the traffic was the story of a septugenarian (name withheld) who fell into a manhole while taking a stroll to relieve the stress she had faced in the traffic. Speaking with our correspondent in a telephone conversation on Thursday, a member of the victim’s family, Tosin Kassim, disclosed that the family was preparing for her 70th birthday. “We were planning for her 70th birthday which is supposed to come up on Sunday. Several people have flown from different parts of the world to attend the party. She had gone out in preparation for the birthday party when she was caught up in the gridlock. After spending several hours in the gridlock, she decided to trek and told her driver to meet her in front. “It was while she was strolling that she fell into a manhole, which has left her hospitalised, and she had to go through surgeries. We hope that the authorities will do something about the situation.” A source who does not want to be mentioned in the media disclosed in a telephone conversation with our correspondent on Thursday that a seven-year-old boy died in the gridlock because the vehicle conveying him could not get to the hospital as timely. He disclosed that the boy was referred to a private hospital in the area but due to the prolonged hours of the gridlock and the inability of the driver to manoeuvre its way out of the situation, the boy gave up the ghost. The source said, “I was informed that a seven-year-old boy died in the traffic because they could not get to the hospital that he was referred to. Their vehicle was stuck in the traffic for several hours.” Also narrating a friend’s ordeal, a commuter, Dr Lakinbofa Goodluck, noted that her friend developed complications from an ulcer due to the prolonged stay in the traffic and that it took the intervention of co-workers to save her. He said, “I left home around 09:30 am because I live around Ikate, and I got to Lekki at about 12:30 pm. So, at that point, I had to turn back because if I spent more than three hours just getting to Lekki Tollgate, I’d probably spend another three hours to get to work. “My friend called me at about 11:30 pm, saying that she had been in traffic since 2 pm. She said she was hungry because she could not get something to eat, and she had begun to have complications from her ulcer. I had to call my colleagues at work to get food that I kept in the freezer across to her. It was a terrible situation.” Other motorists, who had a hectic time plying the Obalende and Falomo overhead bridge to connect to Victoria Island, Lekki and Ajah, lamented the ongoing repairs. In a series of videos shared on social media, some netizens expressed their frustration while claiming to have spent longer hours in the gridlock. “But this is frustrating. A very poor planning and traffic management. Vehicles are currently at a standstill and people have no other option than to trek. As if the trauma isn’t enough already,” Lucy Oyadime wrote on X. Another X user, Chris Ejiofor, claimed to have spent four hours in the gridlock. He wrote, “Welcome to Lagos. Before you consider relocating to Lagos, just know that this is one of the things you have to deal with. Traffic jams will mess with you and your schedules some days, and you can even spend like four hours on the road just like they did here today.” An X user, @Tumininu, who expressed frustration at the development, said he got home at about 2 am and had to wake up by 5 am to prepare for work. “I got home by 2 am due to the traffic. I’m up again by 5 am, heading back to the same traffic. Now this is abnormal,” he wrote. The situation, however, did not abate as vehicles again stalled through the axis on Thursday morning. Television anchor Rufai Oseni, in a video he posted on X, said, “Traffic again this morning. The Federal Government said they have opened the Independent Bridge, the same path that I passed through yesterday, and that they have started excavation work on the ground. How will they open it for traffic? We are such a joke in this country, and that is part of the poor planning and improper thinking that happens in leadership.” The Federal Controller of Works, Lagos, Olukorede Kesha, however, confirmed in a telephone conversation with The PUNCH on Wednesday that the bridge would be reopened. She said her team was already working to implement remedial measures to reopen the bridge for vehicular traffic, as parts of the bridge have already been damaged. She was, however, uncertain if commuters would be able to use the bridge on Friday but assured commuters and motorists that her team was working overnight to ease vehicular movement. “Yes, that is true. The minister (of works) has directed me to open it. But as it is, we are trying to see how we can take remedial measures so that we can open the bridge for vehicular movement because we have already broken parts of the bridge. “We are still unsure if commuters will be able to use it tomorrow (Friday). But we are currently working overnight to do some remedial work. We are working on that. The destruction had gone a bit far, but all hands are on deck too. Hopefully, by tomorrow, we will open the bridge to traffic,” she disclosed. In response to the public outcry, Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu visited the Independence Bridge rehabilitation site on Thursday to assess the situation firsthand. He apologised to residents for the severe traffic disruptions and explained that the decision to repair the bridge was made to avert a potential disaster. Sanwo-Olu emphasised that the structural integrity of the bridge had deteriorated significantly, necessitating immediate intervention. To mitigate the impact of the closure, the governor announced plans to clean up alternative routes and deploy more traffic officers and security operatives to manage the flow of vehicles. He also advised residents to consider remote work options where possible to reduce the volume of traffic during the repair period. In a subsequent visit, the Minister of Works, Dave Umahi, expressed displeasure with the closure of the bridge, stating that he was not informed before the decision was made. Umahi said he was directed by the President to check the situation, adding that the closure should not happen without proper approvals. While acknowledging the need for urgent repairs on the bridge, Umahi faulted the way the closure was handled, describing it as unacceptable. “I have looked at the structural problems, and I am aware of them. We designed the rehabilitation, but unfortunately, when the bridge was to be closed, the controller did that on her own, and it is very unfortunate. “For a bridge to be closed, especially in Lagos, as has been the tradition, I should be informed as a minister. We should also have studied the implications, even though it is an emergency. I would have deployed emergency evacuation measures to mitigate the effects of closing the bridge.” Umahi warned federal controllers and engineers against unilaterally closing bridges without proper approvals, vowing that disciplinary actions would be taken against those responsible. “I use this opportunity to warn all controllers and engineers never to close any bridge without running it through the Permanent Secretary, who will seek the permission of the Minister of Works. There will be consequences and disciplinary actions for this,” Umahi said.

Where do women sit in the current ‘broligarchy’ of US President Donald Trump? Silicon Valley’s “broligarchy” rose to power with the inauguration of United States President Donald Trump, putting tech billionaires like Elon Musk in key roles. Ahead of International Women’s Day, we speak with a journalist who investigated Musk’s takeover of Twitter to uncover what the tech elite has in store for women in the US. In this episode: Episode credits: This episode was produced by Amy Walters and Sarí el-Khalili, with Marcos Bartolomé, Phillip Lanos, Spencer Cline, Hanah Shokeir, Melanie Marich, and our guest host, Kevin Hirten. It was edited by Noor Wazwaz. Our sound designer is Alex Roldan. Our video editors are Hisham Abu Salah and Mohannad Al-Melhem. Alexandra Locke is The Take’s executive producer. Ney Alvarez is Al Jazeera’s head of audio. Connect with us: @AJEPodcasts on Instagram, X, Facebook, Threads and YouTube Follow Al Jazeera English:...