If Congress will not pass the SAVE Act, President Trump apparently has no intention of sitting around waiting for a permission slip. As The American Tribune reported, the White House has opened up election integrity fronts across multiple federal agencies, turning the executive branch into a one-stop shop for pressuring states to tighten up voter rolls and citizenship verification before the midterms.
The SAVE Act, which would require documentary proof of citizenship to register for federal elections, has been stuck in Congress thanks to Republican holdouts and the Senate filibuster. So instead of pacing the Oval Office and refreshing C-SPAN, the administration decided to get creative with agencies most people forgot existed.
Take the Election Assistance Commission, for example. This is a federal body so obscure it probably does not even get fan mail. Trump moved to sharply reduce the commission, which provides cybersecurity and administrative support to state election offices. Democratic officials are not thrilled about this, arguing it could weaken federal assistance before November.
The Justice Department, meanwhile, has demanded that states hand over voter registration records for federal review and sent letters warning state officials they could face prosecution if noncitizens end up voting, which is already illegal. More than a dozen courts have rejected previous DOJ attempts to compel states to hand over voter records, but the administration keeps knocking on the door like a neighbor who smells your barbecue.
The Department of Homeland Security added its own flavor of pressure by warning states that federal election security funding could be at risk if they refuse to use a federal citizenship verification system. Nothing motivates a state bureaucracy quite like threatening to turn off the money hose.
Trump then escalated during a Thursday night address from the White House, announcing the release of classified information about alleged Chinese interference in American elections. "First, they show that over a period of years, starting during the 2020 election cycle, the People's Republic of China carried out what is believed to be the largest compromise of election data in history," Trump said. He claimed the operation resulted in "China's illicit acquisition of 220 million U.S. voter files," including names, addresses, phone numbers, and political party preferences. Trump called it "an unprecedented election security nightmare."
Democrats, predictably, are not fans of any of this. Barb Byrum, the Democratic clerk of Ingham County, Michigan, described the multi-agency approach as "a concerted effort of death by a thousand cuts." She added, "Every day is another battle, but the war that we're fighting is to maintain our democracy."
Ann Jacobs, a Democratic member of the Wisconsin Elections Commission, was similarly unimpressed. "Do I think this is part of the pattern and intentionality of undermining confidence in elections? Yes, yes, I do," Jacobs said.
Trump said the declassified materials would be released in phases, each covering a different alleged operation targeting American elections. The White House has begun making those records public while the broader pressure campaign rolls on, SAVE Act or no SAVE Act. Congress might be moving at the speed of a DMV line, but the executive branch apparently has places to be.
Read more American news stories at: The American Tribune
