Trump, who votes by mail, is now attacking voting by mail |
Every red state in America has two kinds of Republicans – elected officials who cede their state's authority to President Donald Trump in silence, and election administration officials anxious about his intentions for the next election.
Trump's March 31 executive order, a power grab on mail ballots that clearly violates the U.S. Constitution, has upped the pressure on both groups.
That order directs the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to create a national list of eligible voters and orders the U.S. Postal Service to send mail ballots only to people on that new federal list. And it orders the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate and prosecute state elections officials who do not comply with the order's terms.
Article I, Section 4 of the U.S. Constitution gives sole power over running elections to the states. Lawsuits seeking to stop Trump's power grab were swiftly filed in Massachusetts and in Washington, DC, by Democratic Party organizations, blue state officials and voter rights advocates.
Trump, who voted by mail in a special election in Florida in March despite being there during early voting, has long spouted lies and unsubstantiated conspiracy theories about voter fraud via mail ballots to stir division and distrust in how elections are conducted.
The real reason for that: Trump wants to........