longer.blue

Hello? Let’s pause for a moment to consider the United States Constitution. It gives states — not the federal government — the power over elections. States, in turn, have delegated much of the actual work to county and municipal officials in thousands of precincts across the country. While Congress has exercised some power over elections — creating a national Election Day, requiring states to ensure that voter rolls are accurate, and outlawing discrimination in voting (the Supreme Court has already eviscerated Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act and seems now on the verge of gutting Section 2) — states run elections under their own laws and procedures. Would Trump’s Republican lackeys in Congress go along with a putative “takeover” of state election processes that “nationalized” the voting? Some might, but not nearly enough. Their margins in the House and Senate are too small, many of them are already fighting for re-election in districts or states that are shifting against Trump, and in recent weeks several have voted contrary to what Trump wanted (i.e. the Epstein files). Could Trump merely declare a takeover by Executive Order? He could try, but not even his pliant Supreme Court would go along with it. So what’s he up to? Think a many-pronged strategy involving Justice, FBI, CIA, and also Homeland Security and possibly the Department of Defense. Imagine that over the next nine and a half months Bondi, Patel, Gabbard, Noem, and Hegseth all get to work — with the objective of causing enough Americans to worry about voting in the midterms, or doubt that their votes will count in the midterms, that they don’t bother. There’ll be a steady drum-beat of allegations and investigations into voting, accompanied FBI and Justice Department seizures of voter rolls — and by ICE and Border Patrol raids — all centered on American cities where most Democratic voters live. Is it too far-fetched to believe that this is Trump’s strategy — bypassing Congress and the Supreme Court — using the investigative and enforcement arms of the executive branch to intimidate Democratic voters or cause them to become so cynical about the whole process that they don’t vote? I do. And the appropriate response is to fight back. Democratic leaders must say over and over again: You have a right to vote. Trump can’t take it away. Your vote counts. This is your country. And they must sue the hell out of the Trump regime. What do you think? Source-Robert Reich