Why Trump’s Calls to ‘Nationalize’ Voting Have Raised Midterm Fears https://www.nytimes.com/article/trumps-nationalize-voting-elections-midterms-explainer.html #UnitedStatesPoliticsandGovernment #Federal-StateRelations(US) #PresidentialElectionof2020 #VoterFraud(ElectionFraud) #RumorsandMisinformation #MidtermElections(2026) #PresidentialPower(US) #RepublicanParty #Trump,DonaldJ #States(US)

Why Trump’s Calls to ‘Nationalize’ Voting Have Raised Midterm Fears https://www.nytimes.com/article/trumps-nationalize-voting-elections-midterms-explainer.html #UnitedStatesPoliticsandGovernment #Federal-StateRelations(US) #PresidentialElectionof2020 #VoterFraud(ElectionFraud) #RumorsandMisinformation #MidtermElections(2026) #PresidentialPower(US) #RepublicanParty #Trump,DonaldJ #States(US)

Tuesday, a day after Trump’s comments about wanting to “nationalize” #elections, Karoline Leavitt, WH press secy, claimed #Trump was referring to #federal election #legislation in #Congress. Yet after Leavitt’s attempt to soften Trump’s initial remarks, he doubled down on his assertion that the federal government should oversee #state #elections.

#law #ElectionLaw #midterms #democracy #states
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/04/us/politics/trump-election-states-midterms.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share

Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office after signing the bill to end the government shutdown, #Trump asserted that there were several cities with #election irregularities, for which there was NO evidence. “Look at some of the places — that horrible corruption on elections — & the federal government should not allow that,” he said. “The federal government should get involved.”

#law #ElectionLaw #midterms #democracy #states

Tuesday, a day after Trump’s comments about wanting to “nationalize” #elections, Karoline Leavitt, WH press secy, claimed #Trump was referring to #federal election #legislation in #Congress. Yet after Leavitt’s attempt to soften Trump’s initial remarks, he doubled down on his assertion that the federal government should oversee #state #elections.

#law #ElectionLaw #midterms #democracy #states
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/04/us/politics/trump-election-states-midterms.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share

#Trump, in an Escalation, Calls for #Republicans to “Take Over” #Elections

The comments, made on a conservative podcast, follow a string of moves from his admin to try to exert more control over #US elections.

Trump called in a new interview for the #GOP to “nationalize” voting in the US, an aggressive step that was likely to raise new worries about his admin’s efforts to involve itself in #election matters.

#law #ElectionLaw #midterms #democracy #Constitution #states
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/02/us/politics/trump-nationalize-elections.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share

“#States can’t just generally regulate #ICE conduct, because the #federal government gets to regulate that,” he said. “But states *can* provide remedies against federal officials when federal officials violate federal constitutional rights.”

#Trump #law #Constitution #RightToProtest #federalism #StatesRights #CivilRights #AbuseOfPower #authoritarianism #autocracy #ICE #CBP #Sturmabteilung #UseOfForce #StateSponsoredTerrorism

As for the part of the #law that lets people sue #federal agents for violations of the #Illinois #Constitution, the 2 professors wrote, “that provision won’t stand” under the #SupremacyClause.

Still, Vikram Amar said, such #StateLaws can serve a larger purpose.

“In the spirit of #federalism. Not only can #states experiment in this way, but doing so would likely lead #Congress to address the problem,” he said.

#Trump #Constitution #StatesRights #CivilRights #autocracy #ICE #CBP #UseOfForce

As for the part of the #law that lets people sue #federal agents for violations of the #Illinois #Constitution, the 2 professors wrote, “that provision won’t stand” under the #SupremacyClause.

Still, Vikram Amar said, such #StateLaws can serve a larger purpose.

“In the spirit of #federalism. Not only can #states experiment in this way, but doing so would likely lead #Congress to address the problem,” he said.

#Trump #Constitution #StatesRights #CivilRights #autocracy #ICE #CBP #UseOfForce

“#States can’t just generally regulate #ICE conduct, because the #federal government gets to regulate that,” he said. “But states *can* provide remedies against federal officials when federal officials violate federal constitutional rights.”

#Trump #law #Constitution #RightToProtest #federalism #StatesRights #CivilRights #AbuseOfPower #authoritarianism #autocracy #ICE #CBP #Sturmabteilung #UseOfForce #StateSponsoredTerrorism

The #Trump admin promptly sued #Illinois, saying the #law violated the #Constitution’s #SupremacyClause, which generally prohibits #states from enacting measures at odds with #FederalLaw. Whether to allow lawsuits against #federal agents for violating the federal #Constitution, the admin’s complaint said, “is a policy choice for Congress.” [ridiculous]

Professor Amar said aspects of the IL #StateLaW might be problematic, but that its core idea is sound.

#UseOfForce #StatesRights #CivilRights

Some #states — including #California, #Maine, #Massachusetts & #NewJersey — have enacted laws along the lines that Prof Amar proposed, though they are largely untested, & #Illinois recently adopted one tailored to address the conduct of #ICE agents.

https://ilga.gov/documents/legislation/104/HB/PDF/10400HB1312enr.pdf

The IL #law says that lawsuits may be filed “against any person who, while conducting #civil #immigration enforcement, knowingly engages in conduct that violates the Illinois Constitution or the #UnitedStates #Constitution.”

Last week, #FBI agents [& #TulsiGabbard] seized ballots & other voting records from the 2020 election from an #election center in #FultonCounty, #Georgia, where his allies have for years pursued false claims of election fraud. NYT reported Monday that #Trump had spoken directly to the FBI agents involved in the Fulton County raid, praising & thanking them.

#law #ElectionLaw #midterms #democracy #states #racism

#Trump’s remarkable call for a political party to seize the mechanisms of #voting follows a string of moves from his admin to try to exert more control over #US #elections, as he & his allies continue to make false claims about his 2020 defeat.

#law #ElectionLaw #midterms #democracy #states #racism

Under the #Constitution, #US #elections are governed primarily by #state #law, leading to a decentralized process in which voting is administered by county & municipal officials in thousands of precincts across the country. #Trump, however, has long been fixated on the false claims that #US elections are rife with fraud & that #Democrats are perpetrating a vast conspiracy to have undocumented immigrants vote & lift the party’s turnout.🙄

#law #ElectionLaw #midterms #democracy #states #racism

During an extended rant about #immigration on a podcast released on Monday by #DanBongino, his former deputy #FBI director, #Trump called for #Republican officials to “take over” voting procedures in 15 #states, though he did not name them.

“The Republicans should say, ‘We want to take over,’” he said. “We should take over the voting, the voting in at least many — 15 places. The Republicans ought to nationalize the voting.”

#law #ElectionLaw #midterms #democracy #Constitution

#Trump, in an Escalation, Calls for #Republicans to “Take Over” #Elections

The comments, made on a conservative podcast, follow a string of moves from his admin to try to exert more control over #US elections.

Trump called in a new interview for the #GOP to “nationalize” voting in the US, an aggressive step that was likely to raise new worries about his admin’s efforts to involve itself in #election matters.

#law #ElectionLaw #midterms #democracy #Constitution #states
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/02/us/politics/trump-nationalize-elections.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share