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# Trump is Building a FEDERAL Voter List: Should YOU Be Scared?
- URL: https://ivn.us/podcasts/trump-is-building-a-federal-voter-list-should-you-be-scared-2026-04-02/
- Published: 2026-04-02T19:16:13.000Z
- Updated: 2026-05-15T00:36:56.000Z
- Description: Trump just signed an executive order directing DHS to build a federal voter list and instructing the USPS to only deliver ballots to "verified" voters. Legal experts say it's unconstitutional.
- Author: Independent Voter Podcast
- Tags: Podcast, Independent Voter Podcast, California 2026, Voter ID Laws

Trump just signed an executive order directing DHS to build a federal voter list and instructing the USPS to only deliver ballots to "verified" voters. Legal experts say it's unconstitutional. Steve Peace - the man who wrote California's nonpartisan primary - joins the Independent Voter Podcast to break down what the order actually does, why the USPS argument is cleverer than you think, and how California already has a solution sitting on the table that neither party wants to talk about.

## Episode Highlights

In this episode of Independent Voter Podcast, we have a packed house featuring regular hosts Cara McCormick, Chad Peace, Ethan Handelman and Shawn Griffiths. Plus, we sat down with former California state senator and Independent Voter Project co-founder Steve Peace.

Peace brings his decades of experience in California politics to discuss the California governor’s race.

But before we get into that, we open the episode with a discussion about [**Trump's executive order on mail-in ballot voting**](https://ivn.us/posts/trump-eo-pushes-citizenship-verification-and-mail-ballot-tracking-further-than-save-act-debate-2026-03-31), and the growing debate over what role the federal government should play in **voter verification**. 

We dig into the constitutional tension between federal authority and states' rights on **election law**. Steve Peace, in particular, argues that California Democrats have a golden opportunity to champion **ballot transparency** through an upcoming [November voter ID initiative](https://ivn.us/posts/californias-voter-id-initiative-is-way-more-chill-than-trumps-save-act-2026-03-10) – rather than ceding the issue to Republican overreach. 

The second half of the episode shifts to the **2026 California governor's race**. Steve Peace offers in-depth analysis of the crowded Democratic and Republican field. He breaks down the key contenders including **Antonio Villaraigosa**, **Katie Porter**, **Eric Swalwell**, **Betty Yee**, **Chad Bianco**, and **Steve Hilton**.