Overview
- After calling to nationalize voting in at least 15 states, the president’s spokesman said he was voicing support for the SAVE Act, which would require photo ID and documentary proof of citizenship for federal elections.
- Constitutional experts, including Brookings’s William Galston, argue Article I, Section 4 assigns election rules to states with changes only by Congress, leaving no independent role for the president.
- Some Republicans have echoed that view, with former Pennsylvania governor Tom Corbett and former federal judge John Jones III saying a federal takeover of election administration would not pass constitutional muster.
- State officials signaled resistance, as Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford warned any federal attempt to take over his state’s elections would not happen on his watch.
- Critics contend the nationalization rhetoric aims to delegitimize votes in cities with large populations of color, noting GOP moves like the SAVE Act and calls by Steve Bannon to post ICE agents at polling places, while election-law scholar Joshua Douglas expects courts to reject unconstitutional executive actions.