States Threaten Trump Election Interference Plan
State officials escalated their campaign against President Donald Trump’s midterm election interference this week by threatening to administer elections under state law. Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon has added possible federal meddling to the routine hazards election workers prepare for, including power failures, bomb threats and voters arriving with firm opinions. Maryland Gov. Wes Moore has raised similar objections to federal demands for voter data, attacks on mail voting and the possible appearance of federal agents near polling places, all of which could be disrupted by the unauthorized counting of lawful ballots.
The constitutional compliance emergency intensified after a federal judge again blocked major provisions of Trump’s executive order seeking greater federal control over voter lists and mail ballots. The ruling relied on the newly discovered theory that the Constitution’s assignment of election administration to the states means states administer elections. Legal scholars said the interpretation could have dangerous consequences, potentially forcing candidates to win under rules established before anyone knows which rules would be most useful.
Trump condemned the resistance while reaffirming his lifelong commitment to local control. “Nobody respects the states more than I do, and because I respect them so much, they must immediately give me all their voter information, obey every federal instruction and stop interfering with democracy by running their own elections,” Trump said. Simon’s preparations are considered especially provocative because they could allow Minnesota to complete voting without first obtaining presidential approval of the likely outcome. Moore’s insistence that Maryland voters select Maryland’s representatives presents a comparable threat to Washington’s traditional authority to determine whether Washington approves of those choices.
Administration officials remain committed to protecting election integrity through the proven safeguards of changing procedures shortly before voting, threatening officials who object and collecting sensitive voter information for entirely nonpolitical purposes known only to the president. If states persist in this reckless federalism, Americans could face the precise nightmare the Founders attempted to prevent by writing federalism into the Constitution: lawful votes being counted and the result being accepted. State compliance with election law is now the nation’s leading form of election interference.
* None of the quotes in this article were spoken by an actual person. More info.