This morning President Trump put out a post on Truth Social that shares some of his usual and debunked conspiracy theories about voter fraud in elections. Part of the post says that he will “lead a movement” to get rid of mail-in ballots and voting machines. Nothing wrong or illegal about that, and there can be a debate about these things.

But part of the post says that Trump is going to sign an executive order purporting to direct how the midterm elections will be run, on the theory that states are merely an “agent” of the federal government in counting and tabulating the votes. This is wrong and dangerous. TheConstitution does not give the President any control over federal elections. Federal courts have recognized this in the context of his first EO on elections issued months ago–and part put on hold through preliminary injunctions.

CONGRESS in Article I, Section 4 has the power to make or alter state rules for the conduct of congressional elections, but even this congressional power does not extend to state and local elections—witness how Arizona has different rules for voter registration and proof of citizenship applicable in states vs federal elections. CONGRESS also has the power to ensure certain equality in the conduct of elections, for example, to enforce the 15th Amendment’s guarantee against race discrimination in elections. The PRESIDENT has the power to “take care” that these laws are faithfully executed, but that is not the power to take over state elections. It does not make states agents of the federal government, much less agents of the executive branch.

I will have more to say about this, but I will say now that the danger of interference in the midterm elections is real, and this is a dangerous step in this direction. The timing may be connected to trying to distract from the debacle of the Russia-Ukraine war negotiations, but I was expecting more like this and now is the time to be prepared.