On March 25, President Trump issued an executive order that would block tens of millions of eligible Americans from casting votes in future elections. T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights, which organizes over 2,300 rabbis and cantors in the United States and Canada, responded by condemning the executive order as an attempt to deprive voters of the freedom to choose their leaders.
Rabbi Jill Jacobs, CEO of T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights, issued the following statement:
“Trump’s newest executive order is designed to strip Americans of our most fundamental freedoms: the freedom to pick our leaders. By imposing unnecessary and overly burdensome documentation requirements, eliminating registration methods proven to make voting safe and accessible, and allowing Elon Musk to comb through voter records and have access to Americans’ private information, this order is nothing less than a modern-day poll tax. It is a calculated effort to divide and disempower working people, young voters, new Americans, married women who have changed their names, and Black and brown communities—silencing an estimated 21 million eligible voters.
“Jewish law insists on building a society that treats everyone with justice, and that starts with taking stock of the opinion of the collective. The Talmud teaches, ‘A ruler is not to be appointed unless the community is first consulted’ (Brakhot 55a). A primary project of Jewish textual tradition is grappling with how best to construct a society that serves every person’s needs and how to ensure that our leaders do what is right and just. By contrast, this executive order seeks to silence the voices of millions based on their race, economic status, and background. This is not about election security — it is about seizing more power by preventing Americans from exercising their rights.
“This unconstitutional executive order is pulled straight from the Project 2025 playbook, and mirrors a similar effort in Congress to impose these restrictions through the legislature, called the SAVE Act. T’ruah vehemently opposes the SAVE Act and any efforts to bar eligible voters from exercising one of their most fundamental democratic rights. This order would impose requirements to show documents, namely passports, that cost money and require enormous time and effort to obtain. 146 million American citizens — predominantly rural, working class, and low-income Americans — do not have a passport. The MAGA agenda is dead-set on keeping veterans, seniors, students, disabled people, and working people from casting votes and having a say in decisions that affect their lives. Legally, the President has no role in setting election rules; states and Congress do. Trump has no power to enforce this executive order, but we will not sit idly by as the MAGA regime attempts to enact their dangerous agenda at every level of government.
“Throughout history, we have witnessed attempts to strip marginalized communities of their rights, and we have fought back. Today, rabbis and cantors stand in that tradition of resistance. We call on local election officials to refuse to comply with this order and demand that Congress take action to stop this blatant attack on our freedom. We will not allow the Trump MAGA regime to choose which Americans have a voice in our democracy.
“We reject this power grab. T’ruah will fight to build a future where every person counts.”
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About T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights
T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights brings the Torah’s ideals of human dignity, equality, and justice to life by empowering our network of over 2,300 rabbis and cantors to be moral voices and to lead Jewish communities in advancing democracy and human rights for all people in the United States, Israel, and the occupied Palestinian territories.