Trump vows voter ID requirements for the midterms, 'whether approved by Congress or not'
In social media posts on Friday, the president said that if Congress failed to approve legislation mandating voter ID, he would issue an executive order.
“If we can’t get it through Congress, there are Legal reasons why this SCAM is not permitted. I will be presenting them shortly, in the form of an Executive Order,” Trump said in the post.
In another, he wrote, "There will be Voter I.D. for the Midterm Elections, whether approved by Congress or not!"
Trump has called for Republicans to "nationalize" and "take over" the administration of elections. While Congress can pass federal regulations, the Constitution states that “the times, places, and manner of holding elections for senators and representatives, shall be prescribed in each state by the legislature thereof.”
The most recent posts by Trump indicate what next steps the president is looking at should Congress fail to enact the legislation he wants.
Trump has repeatedly pushed Congress to pass the SAVE America Act, which would overhaul elections nationwide, including requiring voters to show photo ID and putting new restrictions on mail-in ballots.
The House passed the SAVE America Act Wednesday, with all Republicans voting in favor of the legislation. Rep. Henry Cuellar of Texas was the lone Democrat to vote for the act.
Nate Persily, professor of law at Stanford University, said that an executive order mandating changes to elections would be unconstitutional.
“The constitution is clear on this. There are a lot of things where it’s ambiguous, but it doesn’t give unilateral regulatory authority for election to the president,” Persily said.
He said the only way for state procedures to be overridden would be if Congress passes a law, like the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
Trump has already attempted to use an executive order to alter voting laws. In March, he issued an order seeking to require people to prove their citizenship when they register to vote, enact mail-in ballot deadlines and more.
A federal judge issued a permanent injunction against that executive order in January, finding that the president does not have the authority to unilaterally alter election procedures.
Rick Hasen, director of the Safeguarding Democracy Project at UCLA School of Law, said that with the January ruling, he expects that "any purported order that would require states to comply with a Trump mandated voter ID law would similarly be found to be unconstitutional."
The SAVE America Act requires states to obtain documentary proof-of-citizenship “in-person” before someone is able to register to vote in a federal election. That documentation could include an American passport or a birth certificate, for example.
