US President Donald Trump announced via social media on Monday plans to issue an executive order eliminating mail-in voting and electronic voting machines, calling instead for paper ballots and hand counts.
Trump wrote that,”…the States are merely an ‘agent’ for the Federal Government in counting and tabulating the votes. They must do what the Federal Government, as represented by the President of the United States, tells them.”
Since states oversee federal elections, the extent of the president’s constitutional power to enforce the measure is unclear, and challenges from states are expected.
Under the Elections Clause of the US Constitution, state legislatures prescribe the time, place and manner of federal elections, subject only to Congress’s ability to override or modify such regulations. Notably, the clause expressly grants Congress oversight authority in this area as opposed to the president.
Legal scholars have emphasized that Trump’s assertion of federal supremacy in election administration is constitutionally unfounded. In
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