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Showing Original Post only (View all)Constitution says states run their elections, not the federal govt. Trump's call to nationalize them is illegal [View all]
U.S. Constitution grants states the authority to conduct federal elections, subject to laws passed by Congress.
Trump's suggestion to nationalize elections is a direct violation of this constitutional principle. The Constitution's Elections Clause states that "the Times, Places, and Manner of holding Elections for Senators and Representatives, shall be prescribed in each State by the Legislature thereof; but the Congress may at any time by Law make or alter such Regulations, except as to the Places of chusing Senators."
This means that local officials across thousands of jurisdictions administer elections and tabulate votes, with safeguards built in that make it "almost impossible for systems to be breached on a scale to affect federal or state results."
Trump's open call for republicans to 'nationalize elections' is an extension of his stochastic lawlessness and treason where he incited his followers to attack the U.S. Capitol and then later pardoned them.
Trump is calling for republicans to surrender their states' elections to the Trump regime; for them to place their elections under the authority of the completely politicized DOJ of a president already convicted of election fraud who was indicted for trying to steal the next one.
Clearly challenged by polls showing huge drops in support across the board for republicans, Trump is desperately trying to muscle his way into taking elections in America away from the people.
But Americans don't have to stand for this lawlessness and treason. His entreaties to republicans are to not just 'Stop the Steal,' as his supporters' prevaricating mantra pretended before they attacked the nation's capitol and savagely beat police, but to actually hijack elections from states which would potentially disadvantage him and his party.
Donald Trump has just advocated yet another illegal election action, presaging other illegal intentions of his for the upcoming midterm elections. In a normal world, when an already convicted felon, who tried to defraud an election and illegally overturn the results of another, advocates illegally interfering in yet another election, that would put such an onus of criminality on them that they would instantly lose the political support that kept them in power.
Likewise, any convicted criminal who openly advocated yet another illegality for the very same offense they're institutionally known to perpetrate would be subject to immediate inquiry by authorities, and likely arrested.
Instead, Trump's bizarre and demented demand is being related by the press as some sort of official proclamation, as if the Executive branch can just imperially assume control of state elections by fiat in an interview. But, most disturbingly, not actually portraying it as an autocratic attempted theft of our democracy, but as some kind of simple policy choice he and his republican sycophants can unilaterally decide and effect with impunity.
That's been the operating principle of this lawless presidency; to just break the law and see if anyone will hold them accountable, knowing well that present-day republicans in Congress are loath to act to uphold the Constitution and laws which limit or restrain their own party's president.
Republicans are on a crime spree of their own; a grifting and tyrannical snatch and grab by the republican majority in this period of relative unaccountability for just about everything they're engaged in which their majority controls. But, it's not going to last forever, and many of them would be well advised that they don't hold any of the immunity the maga majority on the Supreme Court granted Donald Trump.
Do republicans actually want Trump running their state elections? How does that protect or promote any but his own narrow political interest? It's not as if he's been picking winners, or even advantaging republicans in elections with his behavior in office.
But, let's say some republicans will take him up on this... they'll be instant co-conspirators in certain prosecutions in the future, with no one in sight to pardon them out of the pit of shameful treason he's led them to.
I mean, the charges are already stacking up, and the writing's on the wall for a Democratic majority determined to bring the FO to their FA.