PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – After President Trump signed an executive order on Tuesday that would reshape elections, the Oregon secretary of state is warning those policies would make Oregon elections "less safe."

The executive order has several provisions, including requirements for voters to show proof of U.S. citizenship before they can register for federal elections and would only count mail-in or absentee ballots that are received by Election Day – while Oregon accepts ballots up to one week after Election Day as long as ballots are postmarked by Election Day.

While signing the executive order, Trump -- who falsely claims he won the 2020 presidential election -- said, “There are other steps that we will be taking in the coming weeks, and we think we’ll be able to end up getting fair elections,“ as reported by The New York Times.

President Trump added, "This country is so sick because of the election, the fake elections and the bad elections, and we’re going to straighten it out one way or the other.”

However, Oregon Secretary of State Tobias Read says policies outlined in the order threaten Oregon elections.

“I’m disappointed,” Read told KOIN 6 News in an interview on Wednesday. “The bottom line is that this is an executive order that will have the effect of making it harder for Oregon citizens to vote and make our elections less secure and less safe. It’s the fundamental right of every American to hold their politicians accountable at the ballot box and this is an executive order that moves us away from that. I also don’t think it’s legal.”

When it comes to challenging the executive order, Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield said his office will use the tools they have available when threats to Oregon elections arise.

In a statement shared with KOIN 6 News, Attorney General Rayfield said, “We all want fair and accessible elections, and Oregon has been leading in this area for decades. If President Trump or anyone else takes action that threatens the integrity of how we vote in Oregon, we will use all the legal tools we have to defend our state’s values and elections."

Read and Rayfield have been in regular conversation over the executive order, Read said, adding, “He and I are certainly aligned in our interest to ensure that we’re supporting an election system that allows people to use their fundamental American rights to hold politicians accountable, to make sure that those systems are as inclusive as possible and we’ll use every tool we have to make sure that we uphold that.”

Upholding that system in Oregon is critical, Read explained, as Oregon -- which implemented the Oregon Motor Voter Act in 2016-- is among states leading the nation in voter turnout.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the rate of voter turnout in the 2020 presidential election was among the highest in over a century across the U.S. with almost 67% of eligible voters casting their ballots on Election Day.

But some states are boosting that average, including Oregon and Washington which have seen over 75% average voter turnout in the last few presidential elections, according to the University of Florida Election Lab.

“The model that we have in Oregon is something that’s a model for the country and allowing people the convenience of voting on their own time, using paper ballots that are signature verified, our systems are a gold standard in that respect,” Read said.

Now, Read is concerned that the "gold standard" could take a turn as some aspects of the executive order could lead to voter disenfranchisement if eligible voters don't have easy access to documents proving their U.S. citizenship.

“A study from the Brennan Center that says about 9% of Americans don’t have easy access to those qualifying documents. Oregonians are, in fact, at the same level – that’s 300,000 people,” Read said, noting, “It’s also easy to think about the fact that 80% of women who get married change their name. They have to have a document that matches their name. That’s harder for a lot of women in this country.”

These concerns come amid questions over the president's authority to make these changes, as Read explained, “There are scholars and experts who make the persuasive case this exceeds presidential authority, and I expect that’s a case they will be making in court as well."

“There are some things that will definitely be challenged in courts," said Dr. Chandler James, a University of Oregon assistant professor of political science. "The Constitution is pretty clear that U.S. elections should be run by the states and state law. However, Congressional action can override state laws, but there’s nothing in the Constitution that says the president has control over election timing or many election laws and so many aspects of this order will be challenged in the courts."

“I thought (the executive order) was consistent with many of the things that Trump has said about voting. It coincides with his claims, his continued claims, of voter fraud being determinative in the 2020 election results," James said. "I think it’s important to remember that the incidence of voter fraud in the United States is exceedingly rare."

“I think the primary issue that we should be concerned with, with respect to elections here in the United States, is increasing access to voting," James said. "So, even in presidential elections, which are some of the highest turnout elections in the United States, some 30, 40, 50% of people choose not to participate. And that’s because the barriers to exercise their right to vote is too high.”

Increasing access to the polls for eligible voters is among Secretary Read's goals along with bolstering Oregonians' trust in elections and protecting election workers.

“We also have work to do to support the election officials, election workers around our state, around the country," Read added. "They’re under increasing threat and so the funding that is threatened in the executive order is used for things like security cameras and very basic stuff that adds the security and safety of the people who are carrying out and operating the devices and you should not be moving away from that.”

“The bottom line is this executive order is basically a solution in search of a problem,” Read said. “We run fair, secure elections in Oregon. This executive order would make it harder for people to vote. It would make our elections less safe.”