Arizona Attorney General balks at Trump executive order on voting

Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes said the state will not follow an executive order signed Tuesday by President Donald Trump aimed at setting up federal measures on voting.

The new executive order, according to NPR, aims to create a list of "confirmed" U.S. citizens eligible to vote in each state and have the U.S. Postal Service verify mail ballots.

While constitutional experts say the order likely will face quick legal challenges, Mayes said in a statement released Tuesday afternoon that Arizona would not follow the "unlawful" order.

"President Trump can sign all the executive orders he wants. It won't change the United States Constitution," Mayes said in the statement. "States run their elections, not the President of the United States, not the Department of Homeland Security. That is not a political opinion. It is bedrock constitutional law, and federal court after federal court has said exactly that in striking down this administration's previous attempts to seize control of American elections."

Arizona has a high percentage of mail-in ballots, with several cities conducting recent all-mail ballots for various bond measures and other elections.

"In Arizona, over 80% of voters choose to vote by mail," Mayes stated. "That system was built by Republicans, passed by a Republican-controlled legislature, and has been used safely and securely for decades. Even Donald Trump himself voted by mail earlier this month. The President is not trying to improve election security, he is trying to control who gets to vote. That is not his decision to make."

Mayes said the state would use "every legal tool available" to protect Arizona's current system.