Dem
47
GOP
53
Yesterday, Donald Trump issued yet another executive order that tries to do things that cannot be done by executive order. This one, which carries the title "PRESERVING AND PROTECTING THE INTEGRITY OF AMERICAN ELECTIONS," tries to achieve by proclamation things that could never get through Congress.
Among the provisions of the XO are declarations that: (1) voters must provide proof of citizenship to vote, (2) states cannot accept ballots received after Election Day (even if they were cast before Election Day), (3) states cannot allow non-citizens to play any role in the vote-counting process (for example, they cannot serve as poll workers), (4) the federal government will oversee "election security" efforts, and (5) the federal government will take a lead role in prosecuting "election fraud."
Broadly speaking, this XO is mostly bark, and not a lot of bite. The federal government has very little role in administering elections, and so has little right to dictate terms under which elections are conducted. Indeed, even the provision of federal law that prohibits non-citizens from voting in federal elections, which was only adopted in 1996, might not be legal—it just hasn't been tested in court. Whoever it is that is writing Trump's XOs for him clearly knows all of this, which is why "enforcement" of the order rests not in any existing legal authority, but instead in the threat that if states don't do what they are told, they will lose federal funding.
The emptiness of the order is best illustrated by looking closely at the portion that made all the headlines yesterday, namely the part about proving one's citizenship in order to be able to vote. Since there is absolutely no way that blue states are going to go for that (as doing so would effectively justify Republicans' phony arguments about mass voter fraud), what the order actually does is order the Election Assistance Commission (EAC) to change the federal voter registration form to include a proof-of-citizenship requirement.
There are many problems here from the vantage point of the Trumpers. First, the EAC is an independent agency, and not subject to presidential orders. Further, like the FEC, it is deliberately set up to have an equal number of Democratic and Republican commissioners (2 of each in the case of the EAC; 3 of each in the case of the FEC). So, there is no reason to think the EAC is going to play ball here. And even if they do, then people who don't have proof of citizenship, or don't feel like proving their identity just 'cause The Man says so, will just use their state's registration form. And all of this is before we talk about the lawsuits that are coming, and that the administration will lose. Oh, and if Trump does try to yank funding in order to punish a state for not following his decrees, that's a different set of lawsuits, since that would be impoundment, which is illegal.
Presumably, this form of performative, court-docket-clogging nonsense pleases some portion of the Republican Party, by persuading them that "things are getting done." Or, at least, Trump thinks it pleases some portion of the Republican Party. But like many of his XOs, it's just a tale of sound and fury, signifying nothing. And, of course, we know exactly what kind of person tells such tales. (Z)