Charlotte, NC (AP) – Electoral officials of the State and premises of the whole country interviewed Thursday the leaders of a federal agency charged by the president Donald Trump With the implementation of certain parts of its trigger for the overhaul of the elections, some expressing concerns about the consequences for voters and people responsible for voting.
The American elections assistance commission, an independent and bipartite federal agency, is at the center of the Trump order on March 25 which orders the Commission to update the registration form for national voters to include a requirement for proof of citizenship and revise guidelines for voting systems. Trump also wants this to retain federal money to any state which continues to accept the ballots after the day of the ballot, even if they are marked by post by then.
If the republican president can order an independent agency to act and if the commission has the power to do what Trump wants probably be settled in court.
A federal judge published on Thursday a preliminary injunction blocking the requirement of proof of citizenship of the future while the legal challenges on the executive order of Trump take place.
On Thursday, the board of directors of the committee standards – a bipartite advisory group of electoral officials of each state – held its annual meeting in North Carolina. It was among the first conversations held by those who supervise the country’s vote on the implications of Trump’s decree.
The meeting was largely an opportunity for electoral officials to ask the four EAC commissioners on Trump’s decree and to share their concerns about its effects on elections administration and vote.
“I can see on your faces that there are a lot of concerns in this room for this process and other aspects,” said Commissioner Thomas Hicks. “And I strongly encourage you to send us comments on this subject.”
A UTAH elections official has raised concerns about how the Amerindian communities could be affected by a requirement for evidence of quotation, while a Florida elections manager asked for how voting machine companies could comply when a voting system has not yet been certified to respond to the latest directives, which were updated in 2021.
“And they are going to increase production and provide voting equipment and all this for the 50 states and five territories?” Asked Paul Lux, election supervisor in Okaloosa County.
Donald Palmer, chairman of the election assistance committee, sought to reassure electoral officials that the Commission weigh their concerns and encouraged them to continue to share their thoughts.
“Wherever we find ourselves in this process, my goal is to disrupt states the least, to mitigate any impact on you and your voting systems,” Palmer told the group.
Voting rights groups, The Democratic Party And Democratic officials In 21 States, continued, arguing that the Republican President exceeds his authority under the Constitution and interfering the power of states to establish electoral rules. They want to prevent the Commission from taking measures to implement the decree.
The Constitution says that it is states Determine the “times, places and ways” of the way in which the elections are organized, while the Congress has the power to “do or modify” regulations for the presidential elections and the congress. He does not grant any authority to the president on how the elections are administered.
The commission does not wait for court affairs to take place. He sent a letter to the electoral officials of the State who seek their reflections on the way in which they could implement a change in the registration form of national voters to include a requirement of proof of citizenship.
“It remains to be seen how it all happens,” Commissioner Christy McCormick told the Associated Press during a break in the meeting. “I think we have to be ready, however. And I think this is the position in which we are at the moment – try to take the measures that we can be prepared. ”
The process of updating the registration form for national voters and to make changes to the directives of the country’s voluntary voting system are described in federal law. For the form, this implies obtaining comments from state officials and advisory advice from the agency. The process for voting system guidelines also includes a period of public comments and an audience.
The Congress created the election assistance committee after the 2000 presidential election, which included A disputed result in FloridaTo help states update their voting equipment.
Under the 2002 law, the Commission was responsible for distributing federal money for new voting equipment, creating voluntary directives for voting systems, establishing a federal test and certification program for them, and supervising the national voter registration form. He also worked in close collaboration with states to collect a range of data and share ideas on how to manage elections more effectively.
Trump, who continues to make false complaints on the 2020 Presidential electionAsked the Commission to “take the appropriate measures” within 30 days to require documentary evidence of citizenship on the registration form for national voters. The order describes the acceptable documents as an American passport, a real driving license in accordance with the identification or an official military identity document which “indicates that the applicant is a citizen”, or an identity document with photo issued by the government accompanied by proof of citizenship.
The obligation has aroused a general concern that this favors millions of voters who do not have a passport or access to their birth certificate or to other documents that will prove their citizenship. Similar laws at the level of the state caused disturbances, especially during the city elections last month in New Hampshire and in Kansas, where a law since canceled has been found block voter inscriptions of 31,000 citizens and otherwise eligible to vote.
Trump’s order has also ordered the election assistance commission to “take all appropriate measures to stop” federal money for any state that does not manage to use the form that includes the requirement for citation proof, although a handful of states are exempt under federal law to use the national form.
Some states should interrupt their practice of counting the ballots by mail which are stamps by post by the day of the ballot. If they do not, Trump’s decree orders the Commission to retain the funding linked to the elections. Oregon and Washington have deposited A separate trial Against the decree, saying that this would upset their elections because they are fully counting on voting by mail.
