I assume I’m like many Americans when I say I can’t always tell when President Trump is serious or when he’s merely floating an idea for effect.
But this much I do know. His latest provocative suggestion, that Republicans should take control of federal elections this year in possibly 15 states, is a terrible idea.
Thankfully, Republican Senate Majority Leader John Thune quickly closed the door to such foolishness in the Senate, correctly noting, “that’s a constitutional issue.”
On that score, there shouldn’t be much debate.
But this much I do know. His latest provocative suggestion, that Republicans should take control of federal elections this year in possibly 15 states, is a terrible idea.
Thankfully, Republican Senate Majority Leader John Thune quickly closed the door to such foolishness in the Senate, correctly noting, “that’s a constitutional issue.”
On that score, there shouldn’t be much debate.
Article 1, section 4 gives state legislatures the power to set the “times, places and manner of holding elections for senators and representatives.”
The second part of that constitutional clause says, “but the Congress may at any time by law make or alter such regulations, except as to the places of chusing (sic) senators.” This has been used through the years to regulate how state election systems may operate, especially in regards to racial fairness, but never to usurp several states’ powers completely.
But this issue goes beyond the words of the Constitution, important as they are, or with the need to amend it, difficult as that would be. It’s a matter of national and election security.
The most important thing to remember in this debate is a number — 3,244. That’s how many counties and county equivalents exist in the United States. Most of them administer a part of the elections that regularly decide members of Congress and the presidency.
They do so separately, independently and in slightly different ways.
That’s as beautiful of a working argument for states’ rights and the wisdom of local control as you could find. Washington likes to get its hands on everything the states do, but elections remain complicated and fragmented and downright difficult to manipulate.
A successful conspiracy to rig an election would have to involve complicit precinct judges, technicians in charge of tabulating machines and post-election auditors in each county. That’s much harder than hacking into an enormous, centralized election bureaucracy in Washington.
As Brennan Center officials Jess Brouard and Derek Tisler wrote for the State Court Report last year:
“This decentralization is an important feature of American democracy. Since officials on the local level are empowered to handle the bulk of election operations, they can adjust procedures based on the needs and capacity of their communities. That kind of flexibility ensures fair elections can happen even in difficult circumstances, like if a natural disaster strikes.
“Furthermore, having election officials operate in their own communities creates responsiveness and transparency for voters — the people who serve you at the election office and the polling place are your neighbors who have a real stake in ensuring your community has a chance to be heard.”
Or as Thune put it: “I’m a big believer in decentralized and distributed power. And I think it’s harder to hack 50 election systems than it is to hack one. In my view, at least, that’s always a system that has worked pretty well.”
Indeed it has, notwithstanding the unsubstantiated claims of election fraud that have been echoing for nearly six years.
The U.S. election system is an example of good old-fashioned conservative local-control, which is why it’s so hard to hear a Republican president brushing them aside.
Sixty-four lawsuits were filed alleging fraud in the 2020 election. None succeeded.
A panel of former jurists and other notable conservatives thoroughly examined each case, as well as election audits in battleground states. A distinguished member of that group, former U.S. Circuit Judge for the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Thomas B. Griffith, who currently is a fellow at the Wheatley Institute at Brigham Young University, wrote of that experience:
“We have reached the unequivocal conclusion that Trump’s claims of election fraud are unsupported by evidence.”
No doubt, the president is concerned about polls that show Democrats leading in many congressional elections coming up this fall. That may be why he tossed this idea around on a podcast with former FBI deputy director Dan Bongino, and why he since has repeated it.
Is he serious? Who knows? But because the president said those things less than a week after the FBI searched the elections office in Fulton County, Georgia for records related to 2020, it’s hard not to be alarmed.
The second part of that constitutional clause says, “but the Congress may at any time by law make or alter such regulations, except as to the places of chusing (sic) senators.” This has been used through the years to regulate how state election systems may operate, especially in regards to racial fairness, but never to usurp several states’ powers completely.
But this issue goes beyond the words of the Constitution, important as they are, or with the need to amend it, difficult as that would be. It’s a matter of national and election security.
The most important thing to remember in this debate is a number — 3,244. That’s how many counties and county equivalents exist in the United States. Most of them administer a part of the elections that regularly decide members of Congress and the presidency.
They do so separately, independently and in slightly different ways.
That’s as beautiful of a working argument for states’ rights and the wisdom of local control as you could find. Washington likes to get its hands on everything the states do, but elections remain complicated and fragmented and downright difficult to manipulate.
A successful conspiracy to rig an election would have to involve complicit precinct judges, technicians in charge of tabulating machines and post-election auditors in each county. That’s much harder than hacking into an enormous, centralized election bureaucracy in Washington.
As Brennan Center officials Jess Brouard and Derek Tisler wrote for the State Court Report last year:
“This decentralization is an important feature of American democracy. Since officials on the local level are empowered to handle the bulk of election operations, they can adjust procedures based on the needs and capacity of their communities. That kind of flexibility ensures fair elections can happen even in difficult circumstances, like if a natural disaster strikes.
“Furthermore, having election officials operate in their own communities creates responsiveness and transparency for voters — the people who serve you at the election office and the polling place are your neighbors who have a real stake in ensuring your community has a chance to be heard.”
Or as Thune put it: “I’m a big believer in decentralized and distributed power. And I think it’s harder to hack 50 election systems than it is to hack one. In my view, at least, that’s always a system that has worked pretty well.”
Indeed it has, notwithstanding the unsubstantiated claims of election fraud that have been echoing for nearly six years.
The U.S. election system is an example of good old-fashioned conservative local-control, which is why it’s so hard to hear a Republican president brushing them aside.
Sixty-four lawsuits were filed alleging fraud in the 2020 election. None succeeded.
A panel of former jurists and other notable conservatives thoroughly examined each case, as well as election audits in battleground states. A distinguished member of that group, former U.S. Circuit Judge for the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Thomas B. Griffith, who currently is a fellow at the Wheatley Institute at Brigham Young University, wrote of that experience:
“We have reached the unequivocal conclusion that Trump’s claims of election fraud are unsupported by evidence.”
No doubt, the president is concerned about polls that show Democrats leading in many congressional elections coming up this fall. That may be why he tossed this idea around on a podcast with former FBI deputy director Dan Bongino, and why he since has repeated it.
Is he serious? Who knows? But because the president said those things less than a week after the FBI searched the elections office in Fulton County, Georgia for records related to 2020, it’s hard not to be alarmed.
RSS Feed
