Trump Issues Absurd Toothless Executive Order On Elections

In the latest episode of strongman theater, Donald Trump issued an executive order on elections that he doesn't have the authority to enact and is likely to be shot down by the courts.

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Donald Trump loves to issue executive orders that have no legal authority. The president has never understood the difference between executive orders and laws and that was never made more clear by Trump’s latest executive order that requires proof of citizenship to use the federal registration form, insists that no ballots can be counted after election day, and threatens states that do not comply with his order with a loss of federal funds.

The most absurd part of the order is in section 7 where Trump claims to have enforcement powers:

To achieve full compliance with the Federal laws that set the uniform day for appointing Presidential electors and electing members of Congress:

(a) The Attorney General shall take all necessary action to enforce 2 U.S.C. 7 and 3 U.S.C. 1 against States that violate these provisions by including absentee or mail-in ballots received after Election Day in the final tabulation of votes for the appointment of Presidential electors and the election of members of the United States Senate and House of Representatives.

(b) Consistent with 52 U.S.C. 21001(b) and other applicable law, the Election Assistance Commission shall condition any available funding to a State on that State’s compliance with the requirement in 52 U.S.C. 21081(a)(6) that each State adopt uniform and nondiscriminatory standards within that State that define what constitutes a vote and what will be counted as a vote, including that, as prescribed in 2 U.S.C. 7 and 3 U.S.C. 1, there be a uniform and nondiscriminatory ballot receipt deadline of Election Day for all methods of voting, excluding ballots cast in accordance with 52 U.S.C. 20301 et seq., after which no additional votes may be cast.

Sec. 8. Preventing Foreign Interference and Unlawful Use of Federal Funds. The Attorney General, in consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury, shall prioritize enforcement of 52 U.S.C. 30121 and other appropriate laws to prevent foreign nationals from contributing or donating in United States elections. The Attorney General shall likewise prioritize enforcement of 31 U.S.C. 1352, which prohibits lobbying by organizations or entities that have received any Federal funds.

As The Guardian put it, “Many of the provisions in the order are likely to be quickly challenged and are legally suspect. The US constitution explicitly gives states and Congress the authority to set the rules for election and does not authorize the president to do so.”

That is a very restrained way of saying that this order is a big pile of nonsense.