SEATTLE — Washington state leaders swiftly rebuffed an executive order signed by President Donald Trump on Tuesday, which directs the creation of a nationwide list of verified eligible voters and restricts mail-in voting, indicating a likely legal battle ahead.

We are reviewing the executive order and will take any necessary action to protect Washington’s elections," Washington Secretary of State Steve Hobbs said in a statement.

Washington Attorney General Nick Brown said "we are once again prepared to defend Washingtonians' rights." On Wednesday, Brown's office said they are preparing for the likelihood of a formal challenge, aligning with top election officials in other states like Arizona and Oregon who have vowed to push back against the latest order.

The Washington state leaders argued that Trump's order infringes on state's constitutional right to administer elections, and defended Washington's longstanding vote-by-mail system as secure and accurate. Elected officials, Hobbs said, should work to protect the rights of voters, "not making it harder."

Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chair Rep. Suzan DelBene, of Medina, called the order an attempt to "rig the election," months before the midterms in which the Republican Party is anticipated to lose seats in Congress.

States across the American West rely on mail-in voting, and Washington state has utilized vote-by-mail for every election since 2012. Trump has repeatedly attacked the practice, which he argues breeds fraud despite widespread evidence that voter fraud is uncommon.

Trump's executive order is his latest in a flurry of efforts to interfere with states' voting systems. He is also pushing Congress to pass the SAVE America Act, which would require voters to show documentary proof of citizenship before casting their ballots, and a federal judge earlier this year struck down another Trump executive order that also sought to curb mail-in voting.

Washington is already fighting a separate legal battle with the U.S. Department of Justice over access to its voter rolls. The DOJ has sued the state, arguing it is entitled to more complete voter data, while Hobbs says releasing certain personal information violates state privacy protections. The case is still pending and in similar lawsuits filed in other states, like Oregon, DOJ has faced early setbacks, a dynamic Washington officials are likely to consider as they weigh a challenge to the new order.

The executive order issued Tuesday directs the Department of Homeland Security and the Social Security Administration to make a list of eligible voters in each state, and seeks to prohibit the U.S. Postal Service from sending absentee ballots to those not on each state’s approved list. Trump also called on the Postal Service to ensure ballots have envelopes with unique bar codes that allow for tracking. The executive order states that federal funding may be withheld from states that don't comply.

Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., said Trump's latest order "could cause chaos and disenfranchise voters just months before the midterms."

"Washingtonians cherish voting by mail because they know it is secure and convenient," Cantwell said. "The framers were deliberate; the Constitution entrusts election administration to the states."

Trump, while signing the order Tuesday evening, said he believes it is "foolproof.

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