Faced with obstacles and resistance, Trump is pushing to reshape the election on many fronts
WASHINGTON – President Trump has spent months waging an unusually aggressive campaign to reshape how states run elections, using federal agencies in ways no previous president has attempted.
He pushed the Department of Homeland Security to compile a list of citizens in each state to help determine voter eligibility. He wants to give the Postal Service a role in deciding who can receive mail-in ballots. He has threatened to withhold federal funding from states unless they roll out electronic voting machines. And he's pushing Republican lawmakers to reform voting rules, which he says without evidence that the election is rigged.
The efforts have faced opposition in court and within his own party. They also left postal workers and local election officials facing an election cycle marked by deep doubts about the integrity of the election, and uncertainty about how the federal government would challenge the post-election results.
“It's an unprecedented power grab to restructure the way our elections work so he and his allies can retain and expand power,” said Eric Kashdan, director of federal advocacy at the Campaign Legal Center, a nonpartisan government policy organization.
The White House is defending the effort as fulfilling a campaign promise, and says the administration is “legitimizing the agenda that President Trump was elected to establish.”
Some of Trump's attempts to control state elections have been his push to pass the SAVE America Act, which would require voters to provide proof of citizenship when registering, require Americans to show identification when voting and require states to send voter information to the Department of Homeland Security.
His relentless pursuit of the measure has led him to veto a bicameral bill and threaten to stop signing any legislation unless a ballot measure is approved. He says he considers this issue “a national emergency.” Despite the pressure campaign, Senate Republican leaders maintain that there is not enough support to pass the measure.
The political problems ahead of the midterms were clearly expressed by House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), whose chamber approved the SAVE America Act. Last month, Johnson warned people gathered at the Faith & Freedom Coalition that if Democrats regain control of the House, they will “go after the president's family, his cabinet, his sponsors, his friends” and his supporters.
“I run a defense,” Johnson said. “I will take care of you.”
Issues in court
The administration's ambitions struck a chord in court last month, with justices reaffirming in several cases the Constitution that gives states — not the federal government — primary authority over elections.
In another case, US District Judge Sparkle L. Sooknanan, who was appointed by President Biden, went further.
He said the federal immigration database was compiled by the Department of Homeland Security to determine whether voter eligibility violated privacy laws. He added that the database has led to states actively removing US citizens from voter rolls based on inaccurate information.
“Overall, the federal government has deliberately trampled on the privacy rights of American citizens in a way that jeopardizes the sacred right to vote,” Sooknanan said. he wrote. “This Court cannot stand idly by when that happens.”
James Percival, the Homeland Security general counsel, said the decision was the latest example of “how hard the Left will fight to stop us from solving problems they insist don't exist.”
A majority of the Supreme Court this week also struck down the GOP and upheld state laws that allow the counting of mail-in ballots that are marked on Election Day but arrive late.
The decision left Trump furious. He said it was “a little surprising” to see the court's decision, saying without evidence that the outcome would definitely give “people more time to vote illegally.”
Democrats also saw the decision as a necessary check on the Trump administration's efforts.
“While we continue to see unprecedented efforts to disrupt the election from the Trump administration, it is a relief to see federal courts make it clear that these mail-in and absentee voting attacks are illegal and unconstitutional,” said Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Los Angeles) in a statement after the decision.
Trump is still looking at changes to voting by mail. In March, he issued an executive order aimed at limiting who can receive postal ballots. Under the proposed law, the Postal Service will not deliver ballots to states that do not forward sensitive voter information to the federal government, Postmaster General David Steiner told a Senate panel last month.
The admission drew immediate criticism from Democratic lawmakers. They said the law was an illegal attempt to force countries to give up their votes.
“Please step back from being a pawn in this playbook,” Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) told Steiner. “The Postal Service is one of the most important institutions in our country. Don't pollute it with the obsession of this one man.”
The day after that, US District Court Judge Indira Talwani, who was appointed by President Obama, blocked those plans – at least for now.
“The Constitution does not give the President certain powers in elections,” the judge said he wrotewhile adding that the Postal Service has no legal authority to decide who can vote by mail and how.
The White House said Wednesday that the administration remains optimistic that the administration's plan will work for the November election.
Taken together, the administration's efforts are unprecedented, said UCLA law professor Rick Hasen. This is because the Constitution places control over elections in the hands of the states and gives Congress the power to pass laws, he said.
“The president only has authority over federal laws that have been passed,” said Hasen. “It is not surprising that many courts have dismissed or prevented him from doing things to try to interfere with the way the election is conducted.”
Postal workers are waiting for clarification
The official reversal of the proposed Postal Service rule was welcome news to the union that represents postal workers.
“We believe that what we are being asked to do is contrary to the oath we took,” said Jonathan Smith, president of the American Postal Workers Union, which represents more than 200,000 postal workers.
After the decision, the union asked the agency to drop the law, arguing that it would “erode mailers' trust in the Post Office” and undermine “one of the most important jobs the Post Office Department and postal workers perform in the service of the United States and its remarkable democracy.”
In several states, the union ran ads promoting voting by mail as a safe and necessary option for Americans. The ads were planned before Trump signed an executive order in March seeking to limit who can receive mail-in ballots, Smith said.
Now, advertisements take on a different meaning. Smith argued that “sometimes God works in mysterious ways.”
“The ad was there then and now it's meant to educate America about how great the mail-in vote is, how effective it is,” Smith said. “It's an educational episode, not a response to the White House.”
Before the election, Smith said postal workers were waiting for clarification on how their jobs might change. But for now, he says, there isn't much.
Orange County Registrar Bob Page said his office is monitoring any changes to state and county election laws to ensure that any changes, if needed, are made without disruption. But he admitted that the delay could create obstacles as the election approaches.
“In many ways, any change in the way California voters vote between now and Election Day can be challenging and potentially disruptive,” Page said.
He said many counties have ordered outgoing and return ballot envelopes for the election to ensure that the envelopes of more than 23 million California voters are ready for use by the Oct. 5. Any change in the manner in which ballots are to be prepared or submitted may present a problem.
“Our office has received calls from voters asking about potential changes to the mail-in voting process that often coincide with media coverage of the proposed changes,” he said. “We inform these voters that our procedures have not changed because the law has not changed and we will send their votes for the 2026 National Election on October 5.”
LA County is preparing for possible voting changes
In Los Angeles County, election officials are also in a battle to bring clarity to the process as administrators introduce a series of proposed changes to the election.
Dean Logan, head of the Los Angeles County Clerk's Office, said his office is struggling to contain the tide of election misinformation, including some fueled by the White House.
“It's not something we've seen happen before, and not at the level we've seen,” said Logan.
Instead of responding to all complaints, Logan says his office picks its battles, intervening only when a falsehood appears likely to reach a large audience. However, the office tries to avoid dealing with anyone who distributes.
If the administration imposes new legislation closer to the election, Logan said his office is prepared to follow through on the legislation.
“It was really about finding this balance of staying alert and being prepared for what might happen [of change] but let's not get into political interference,” he said.
Last month, Trump said without evidence that Democrats cheated to win the California primary, and boasted about Los Angeles prosecutors investigating the matter.
Trump continued to say that Democrats are trying to cheat or cheat in the upcoming election, comments that have faced criticism from members of his own party.
“I think it's ironic that we control the House, the Senate, the Supreme Court and the White House and we're screaming about election fraud. I mean, we've won every bad election,” said Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) told reporters last month.
On the national stage, Senate Democrats said they plan to send election observers to polling places on behalf of Congress in response to Trump's efforts.
“Let's not wait for chaos to come,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (DN.Y.) said last month. “We are preparing now.”
