Secretary of State Shenna Bellows on Friday criticized an executive order by President Donald Trump calling for tighter rules governing elections, saying it would make it harder for women, military members, overseas voters and rural citizens to vote.

Bellows said she is still reviewing the “Preserving and Protecting the Integrity of American Elections” order signed Tuesday, but she suggested Trump was overstepping his authority because states are empowered to run their own elections.

“Executive orders cannot change federal voter registration law or Maine election law. Nor can executive orders compel Maine to enter into data sharing agreements to turn over information about Maine citizens to anyone,” Bellows said in a written statement Friday. “In our democracy, the power and authority to make law lies with the legislative branch.”

The criticism comes only days after Bellows declared her candidacy for the Democratic nomination to replace Gov. Janet Mills, who cannot seek reelection because of term limits.

After her announcement, the Maine Republican Party called on Bellows to step down as the state’s top election official, citing her efforts last year to exclude Trump’s name from Maine’s presidential ballot because of his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, riots at the U.S. Capitol.

Trump’s executive order calls for requiring proof of citizenship when registering to vote and requiring that all absentee ballots be received by Election Day. The order, which mirrors requirements in the Republican-backed SAVE Act, threatens to pull federal elections funding for states that do not comply.

Maine law already requires that absentee ballots be received by the time polls close on Election Day to count, but 18 other states and Puerto Rico allow ballots postmarked on Election Day to be counted.

In Maine, people must show proof of their identity and age, such as a driver’s license or passport, to register to vote. They also must show proof of residency, which can be documented a number of ways, including with a utility bill, bank statement, paycheck, driver’s license, motor vehicle registration or hunting or fishing license.

But the order’s requirement to show proof of citizenship has raised concerns about disenfranchising voters, especially married women who have changed their names but whose birth certificates still list their maiden names.

“I have serious concerns about the policies proposed in the Executive Order that would make it harder to vote for women, military and overseas voters and rural citizens,” she said.

Maine Republicans, meanwhile, have submitted a bill to amend the state Constitution to explicitly limit voting in state and local elections to U.S. citizens, and another bill that would add citizenship status on state driver’s licenses and identification cards.

Only U.S. citizens are allowed to vote in state elections under the Maine Constitution. Some municipalities, including Portland, have debated whether to allow noncitizens to vote in local elections, but none have allowed it.

Bellows also criticized the requirement that states share information with the federal government, pointing to the administration’s early missteps in releasing confidential information, including disclosing names of new CIA agents, the Social Security numbers of former congressional staffers, and plans for bombing a terrorist target in Yemen in unclassified channels.

“Mainers should be able to trust that their voter registration and driver’s license data will be protected by their government,” Bellows said. “Previous and ongoing actions by this administration have shown a disregard for information security and data privacy, so I will work with my colleagues in Maine and around the country to protect the rights of Maine voters and the security of our elections.”