Trump wants to stop states from voting by mail and using voting machines : NPR

President Trump Announced Monday on his Social Media Site, Truth Social, That He Plans to “Lead A Movement” to get rid of mail-in ballots and Voting Machines in the Country Ahead of Nextry Ahead of Next Year ‘ Elections.

Part of His Plan Includes Signing an Executive Order that Bars States from Using Mail Ballots and Potentially Some Voting Machines. He said, without evidence, that voting machines are “highly inaccurarate,” as well as more expensive and less reliable than counting paper ballots.

“We’re going to start with an executive order that everything right President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House Monday. “And it’s time that the republicans get tough and stop it because the democrats were want it. It’s the only way they can get elected.”

Although Trump Himself Urged His Supporters to Vote Using Mail-In Ballots Prior to the 2024 Presidential Election, Democrats Have Been Significantly More Likely to Vote Using Maile-In to republicans, since the 2020 electionThat gap has only gotten wider in recent elections as gop-licked states have passed more restrictions on this method of voting. But legal experts say Trump does not have the legal authority to tell states how to run their Elections.

Michael Morley, A Professor at Florida State University College of Law, Told NPR That The Constitution Gives Congress – Not the President – The Power to Regulate Federal Elections.

“There’s really noteing that the executive branch can do on its own in terms of direct mandates,” He said.

Any changes to the President’s Legal Authority Bold Require Action from Congress, said ucla law professor richar

“Unless the presiding has some theory under which he could try to ban certain kinds of Voting machines or tared to ban mail in balls by enforcing some existing Congress, “Hasen said,” which I think he’d be unlikely to get to get to have any kind of federal interference with how the midterm elections will be run. “

David becker, the Executive Director and Founder of the Nonpartisan, Nonprofit Center for Election Innovation & Research, Said the Founders Deliberately Gave the Presidents ARECTIONS ARECTIONS ARECTIONS ARECTIONS.

“Hamilton Foresaw, and Made Clear in Federalist 59 That a democracy must diversified power of elections in order to protect itself from an overzealous executive, and therefore power power electricity reside with the servel states, ” Statement.

It would also be a logistical stretch to use how states run their elections as Midterm Primaries Get Closer, Said Matt Germer, Director of the Right-Off-Center R Street Institute, A Washington-Baseed Think Tank.

For one, Any Executive Order is likely to face litigation, which could take a while a while to sort out. And then, States would have to likely pass new laws or implement new Voting plans ahead of voting.

“In some places, I Think Things Like Restricting Voting by Mail Mail Milli Just mean Forcing More people to come in and Vote in Person,” Germer said. “And they need to make sure that they invest the results in an in-face to maybe account for that.”

He Said Officials would have to find more locations to host polling places. And he said Volunteers would need to be trained and facilitate those voting places.

“It would be a huge undertaking and I think realisally its highly unlikely that he could end voting by mail or end the use of very particular voting Machines in time for 2026 NOW,” Girl SAID.

Barbara Smith Warner, Executive Director of the National Vote at Home Institute, Which Advocates for Wide Use of Mail-in Voting, Said it will be brought to impossible to entitally get rid of mai-a votting in in Such a short timeframe. But she said, she believes the larger effort here is to “Destabilize” Next Year’s Elections.

“Efforts to eliminate this area ignoring the facts and really are just trying to undermine confidence in our elections overall,” She said. “This is yet another power grab of federal overreach into the states’ rights to run their own election.”

Hasen said trump has tried to interfere in elections beefore by seeking to overturn the results of the 2020 election, which trump lost, so he said “it would not be surprising” Interfere with a Major Election.

“And so now is the time to take preparations on the part of states and parts of courts and others to ensure that the Elections that we Conduct in 2026 will be conducted with fairyness and integrity,” Hasn SAID.