Trump aims to flip election power

Richard L. Hasen, professor at UCLA School of Law - By design, presidents have no power over the conduct of federal elections. President Donald Trump’s recent executive order on election administration aims to flip that, trying to take power from both an independent bipartisan federal agency and from the states, in an affront to principles of federalism. This dangerous power grab signals further democratic backsliding.

Most other democracies such as Canada or Australia have a national body that administers national elections. The United States, on the other hand, leaves the administration of federal elections to states and counties, with additional rules imposed by Congress under its constitutional power to regulate congressional elections.

It’s dangerous to put such power in the hands of the president.

After the disputed 2000 election, Congress used those powers to pass the Help America Vote Act which, among other things, established the United States Election Assistance Commission: a federal agency that approves voting technologies eligible for federal subsidies and advises states and counties on best practices. The EAC is described as “independent” in the congressional statute; it has four members, no more than two from any single political party, and it takes three commissioners to approve anything. The design is meant to be bipartisan and independent of political branches, insulating the agency from some politics.