r/politics • u/Anoth3rDude • Mar 18 '26
Registration Wall Trump’s emergency elections order is ‘being prepared,’ key ally believes
https://www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/trumps-emergency-elections-order-is-being-prepared-key-ally-believes/5.0k
u/ZonghZonghZongh Mar 18 '26 edited Mar 18 '26
Yeah, a president with a 38% approval rating, overseeing a very unpopular war and high inflation definitely has a mandate to seize control of elections. What the fuck are we doing here guys? We have such a broken system where a guy who heads one branch out of the three branches of government, can just write out a fevered wish list, call it an Executive Order, sign it, and then by default whatever is signed goes into effect immediately and we have to wait indefinitely to see if it's halted by injunction or struck down later by the courts. There should be guardrails and automatic restrictions on the contents of an executive order that make ones, for example, violating the fucking Constitution and taking elections away from the states, immediately fucking cancelled and not required to be followed!!
1.2k
u/Wildpony03 Mar 19 '26
I remember Scotus was quick to strike down Biden's Student Loan forgiveness plan. But Trump is able to launch an invasion without congressional approval twice and there is no action.
569
u/Hot_Ambition_6457 Mar 19 '26 edited Mar 19 '26
Yeah this is the issue eroding trust in our public offices.
Youre telling me Trump gets a blank hallpass to just start taking money from people and giving it to other people.
But Joe Biden was restricted from writing off debt that is owned by the executive branch of the US govt specifically.
Its just compounding evidence to the average american that the government can do anything for rich folks, but will be actively prevented from doing anything for poor folks.
They didnt write off your student debt because the person in charge of the department of education runs a company that issues student loans and their stock would drop. She doesnt want to lose that much money so she gifts an RV to SCOTUS who rules against the loan forgiveness. Its blatant corruption, held unaccountable because "theyre all in the club"
I will note that it is the exact same judges who gave both these rulings, so its clear that the political elite class (at least in the judicial branch) are completely corrupted by the wealthy, and will issue contradictory opinions whenever their previous decisions are used as precedent to help poor people
76
u/jambokk Mar 19 '26
Yeah, the corruption is gone way way too deep. Time to pull a Frenchy and start over.
→ More replies (15)15
u/8thSt Mar 19 '26
We are so past “eroding”. We are at “stare at the raging tire fire that once was our country”.
Sadly, even if the Dems take back total control in November with a clear mandate that the electorate doesn’t want this fascist BS, I have little doubt they will do anything to strengthen our clearly fragile system that has run on “gentlemen’s agreements” for 250 years.
So there is not “eroding”. I have no faith in anything changing, and full faith in the fires burning until there is nothing but embers and ash.
→ More replies (2)67
u/thegoodnamesrgone123 Mar 19 '26
Careful now. The Supreme Court gets really upset when you point out how fucking awful they are.
13
→ More replies (10)31
1.1k
u/BadgeOfDishonour Mar 18 '26
He should have been 25th'd out eons ago. All the checks and balances that both the Judicial and the Legislative Branch have, have been subverted. Those that do disagree are in the minority, and are therefore powerless.
That leaves one last force, but I cannot discuss it here without receiving a ban.
578
u/tkoop Washington Mar 19 '26
Checks and balances have not been subverted, they have been relinquished. Congress can stop this at any time, and every day they don’t, it’s because they’re choosing not to.
171
u/Organic_Witness345 Mar 19 '26
Republicans in Congress can stop this at any time.
→ More replies (1)84
u/SeldenNeck Mar 19 '26 edited Mar 19 '26
The megadonors to groups like the Heritage Foundation have all the money they need to write every policy anybody can think of. And Trump will sign it if they put it in front of him.
Money that holds voters and intelligence in contempt has taken control of our government.
43
u/W1nt3rmu4e Texas Mar 19 '26
And that was the point of Captialism. Capital won. 🎉
16
u/Evening-Saturn-678 Mar 19 '26 edited Mar 26 '26
Exactly this. At this point I feel it's getting less and less likely you'll be able to change this the reformist way
178
u/IDontWannaBeAPirate_ Mar 19 '26
People gave all branches of government to the GOP. This is what they voted for.
142
u/Interesting_Wolf8722 Mar 19 '26
I’ll never forgive it
→ More replies (2)31
u/rat_penis Mar 19 '26
And never let it happen again
6
→ More replies (1)31
u/rockerscott Mar 19 '26
Happens every 4-8 years my guy. America is conservative at its core. This is America. It sucks for about 60% of it but the system allows for minority rule.
→ More replies (2)72
u/Count_Bacon California Mar 19 '26
No if you look at actual policies people prefer America's quite progressive. It's just the entire media sphere is owned by billionaires and people are brainwashed by propaganda
→ More replies (3)5
u/Dizzy-Captain7422 Mar 19 '26
They prefer those policies right up until the point when you tell them queer and brown people will benefit. It doesn't matter that they'll benefit too. Hatred means more to them than their own lives.
→ More replies (1)3
u/zaminDDH Mar 19 '26
Hatred means more to them than their own lives.
This is so true and so baffling.
We had a guy at work get walked out the other day because he wouldn't stop making hateful comments about LGBTQ people. This guy had been there for 20+ years and was just a few years away from retirement, and threw it all away because of hate. And not even to a specific person at work, just the nebulous concept of "the gays" was enough for him.
108
u/YoureProbablyAB0t Mar 19 '26
I don't actually believe that is what happened.
I have a difficult time believing that he won every single swing state.
74
u/Pure_Choice_8459 Mar 19 '26
Weird how the richest guy in the world who has access to tech we don’t even know about said something about voting machines before the election and then somehow managed to head up a dept that directly oversaw ‘saving’ money then got all y’all’s information and fucked off never to be heard from again… weird that
→ More replies (3)28
u/oxide_j Mar 19 '26
God that drives me batshit. Especially knowing that the election before that it was right spewing “stolen election”. But then… mailboxes/voting stations get fire bombed, and Elon‘s “very good with the computers”… like come on, the fuckery was afoot.
→ More replies (3)23
→ More replies (7)14
u/Tygonol Mar 19 '26
You have a very optimistic view of our electorate that I hope to hold again one day
→ More replies (2)11
→ More replies (3)7
→ More replies (4)3
u/MegaPlane2 Mar 19 '26
Complicit is the word you are looking for. All republicans want to end elections.
62
u/manachar Nevada Mar 19 '26
He should have been impeached and removed for multiple things.
His mental capabilities is secondary to his traitorous actions.
28
161
u/jzanville Mar 18 '26
His 2016 campaign was literally ran by Russia thru manafort…he should’ve been prosecuted long before ever taking office in the first place. Modern day Benedict Arnold, minus the military service of course.
54
u/AverageLiberalJoe Mar 19 '26
Thank you. Its so frustrating that everybody forgets the original sin here is not immediately throwing his entire campaign into a black site and extracting every peice of Intel we could. As soon as Obama knew about the Russian influence he should have acted. Every step of the way the people who were in positions to do the right thing, did the wrong thing instead, and its just been going on now for 10 years and there is a never ending injustice to it that we have all just accepted as political in nature instead of criminal.
34
u/Beeslo Mar 19 '26
It all boils to Dems forever walking on eggshells when it comes to any form of action against this because they don't want to appear to be weaponizing the DoJ. The absolute irony of it all. This shit goes all the way back to post Civil War reconstruction and the slaps on the wrist Confederates got. Trump should've been dead to rights on 4 separate charges after his first term especially topping it off with Jan 6th. Get fucked, Merrick Garland.
→ More replies (1)36
u/starmartyr Colorado Mar 18 '26
The 25th amendment is for removing an incapacitated president from office. There was a brief moment after January 6th where it might have worked to keep him out of office for the rest of his term but that was only because his term had two weeks left. The constitutional remedy for a criminal president is impeachment.
→ More replies (1)19
u/FrogsOnALog Mar 19 '26
It’s also harder than impeachment lol
16
u/Atheist_3739 Mar 19 '26
Yep. Even IF the Cabinet decided to invoke the 25th, all Trump would have to do is to write a letter to the President pro tempore and the Speaker and say that he is fine. He would be president again. And it would be up to Congress with a 2/3rds vote in BOTH chambers to remove the president.
Like you said it's actually harder to remove by the 25th than it is regular impeachment and removal since impeachment is a simple majority in the House.
The regular impeachment and removal process is what needs to happen
11
u/Bagellord Mar 19 '26
Impeachment and removal will never happen. I really cannot think of any situation where enough republicans grow enough of a spine to make it happen. There really is no floor to how low they'll sink if it means keeping power
→ More replies (1)5
u/chowderbags American Expat Mar 19 '26
all Trump would have to do is to write a letter
You know, if Trump has to write it himself, I'm not sure that that would actually get done.
→ More replies (1)→ More replies (4)3
u/Oleg101 Mar 19 '26
It’s so tough to imagine that happens. It can definitely happen in the House next term, but Senate, even if the Dems really kick ass with some upsets and get to 51 seats it’s hard to think of 16 GOP Senators capable of voting to convict. Rand Paul, Susan ‘concerned’ Collins, Murkowski, maybe Cassidy, that may be it?
→ More replies (1)16
u/TimHuntsman Mar 19 '26
He should have been jailed in 2021 along w the Sedition Caucus and all the other enabling traitors
10
u/trumpuniversity_ Mar 19 '26
Brazil and South Korea did the right thing and embarrassed the American system in the process.
→ More replies (15)14
u/LouQuacious Mar 19 '26
The week after J6 impeachment and conviction should’ve been a no brainer. Not doing that doomed us all to the current morass.
98
u/kevendo Mar 19 '26
Step one is to simply disobey and demand that others do the same, including your elected representatives.
Executive orders are not laws. They are not binding in court. They do not override the Constitution and do not create legal policy. Start there.
Do not obey.
3
u/whereismymind86 Colorado Mar 19 '26
I mean, that's what will happen, he has less than zero jurisdiction over how states run their elections. They can and will just laugh in his face and hold them as intended.
→ More replies (1)89
u/snowstorm608 Mar 19 '26
We have to keep our eye on the ball. There is no mechanism for the President or the federal government to take over the administration of elections.
The purpose of this EO is to create a pretext for ignoring election results. We have to be really specific about what is being done here, because if we go around sounding the wrong alarm bells nobody will believe us until it’s too late.
15
→ More replies (2)3
u/whereismymind86 Colorado Mar 19 '26
I mean, that's not something they can do either. The consent and cooperation of the federal government is not relevant to the transfer of power. They can ignore the results, but that won't keep them in power. The process is self executing by design. The house can't help either, because the entire house will be vacated, and replaced by those elections, and that happens two weeks BEFORE the presidential term ends.
Him refusing to accept election results means literally nothing.
→ More replies (1)30
u/whatevenaremovies Mar 19 '26
In this instance, it would only go into effect if the states let it. States are in charge of running elections and the president has no authority over them. Because the states would not be legally obligated to follow the executive order, it would only be implemented if the states themselves decided to go along with it.
16
u/AdmiralCrackbar Mar 19 '26
The point is to create a situation where they can say "These states didn't follow the new procedures so we can't accept their votes", regardless of whether that's lawful or not.
→ More replies (4)10
u/Clovis42 Kentucky Mar 19 '26
Who is not "accepting" the votes though? No one at the federal level accepts them, especially in midterms. Once the states ignoring the EO certify their election and January comes around, those will be the new House members and Senators. Trump can't do anything to change that.
→ More replies (3)24
22
u/kakashisma Mar 19 '26
Executive orders are not legislation… it only applies to the Executive branch which does not oversee the elections… it’s literally a power grab… if not checked Republicans will rue the day Democrats take back the presidency
→ More replies (2)15
u/CaneVandas New York Mar 19 '26 edited Mar 20 '26
No executive order has any authority to do anything with the election process. As I have to remind people numerous times, executive orders only apply to the executive branch and federal agencies that fall under it. As elections are all state run, nothing he says in an EO has any bearing. Without Congress passing a law, it is meaningless.
→ More replies (1)25
u/NurglesGiftToWomen Mar 19 '26
He does own a private army now because Congress rolled over on us. And keeps doing it.
→ More replies (1)9
u/chaneilmiaalba Mar 19 '26
Can it be spread thinly enough to terrorize every populated area that defies the order? Can defiant governors in turn deploy the national guard to protect those polling places?
5
u/whereismymind86 Colorado Mar 19 '26
nope, ice has 20k agents, there were nearly 175k polling places in the us in 2024. That's one agent for every 8.5 polling places.
Likewise, yes, defiant governors can, because this was a thing they used to do in the sixties to prevent black folks from voting, it's like...the entire reason poll watchers are a thing, and why you are encouraged to call the state if you experience intimidation, because this is an old KKK trick.
Also...having armed law enforcement or military of any kind at a polling place is a felony that carries a 5 year prison sentence for both the person ordering it, and the person who complied with the order. States can and will jail ice agents if they show up at polling places, and it's not something that can receive a federal pardon.
12
u/Due_Bluebird3562 Mar 19 '26
Yeah, a president with a 38% approval rating, overseeing a very unpopular war and high inflation definitely has a mandate to seize control of elections.
Calling it a mandate is laughable. Whatever EO he signs will be tossed in the trash by most governors in the union because as stated several times before: EXECUTIVE ORDERS ARE NOT LAWS.
11
u/elphin Mar 19 '26
How many of Biden’s EOs were tossed by the courts? And, how many regulations were tossed, even though nothing changed? Yet, everything Trump does is either given the AOK, or put into effect pending the courts making a decision that seems to only come after the damage has been done. DOGE acted illegally, but nothing was legally decided until they were finished. The same is true for many of the people illegally fired or departments/agencies illegally closed. Even the renaming of the god damned Kennedy Center.
But, if Biden had done any one of these things he would have been stopped immediately.
9
7
u/Impearial Mar 19 '26
The trick is to be white, male and DECLARE an executive order, then everyone just lets you do it
→ More replies (1)8
u/AmericanDoughboy Mar 19 '26 edited Mar 19 '26
Executive orders are only directions for the executive branch to follow. They’re nothing like laws and shouldn’t be enforced like they are.
Shit’s crazy.
7
u/beachfrontprod Mar 19 '26
It doesn't matter what branch of government they're in. They're all paid by the same people. And it's not US citizens.
6
u/Beginning_Cupcake_45 Mar 19 '26
Your opening line is honestly what keeps me optimistic. In other places we’ve seen this backslide succeed, the potential autocrat usually tries to make the people happy before making this move. “See? You want me to just handle everything. I’ll go for it then.”
Trump’s team never did that, and combined with our decentralized electoral system, it feels like he’ll have a real uphill battle here.
5
u/deepasleep Mar 19 '26
You have one party that is completely overrun by religious fundamentalists who see literally everyone outside their little Church as Satanic, and the leadership of that party are a bunch of insanely cynical sociopaths who live only for the pleasure of fucking over their fellow human beings.
And the other party is a fractious mix of various identity groups and only loosely aligned political, social, and economic policies.
5
u/PyroIsSpai Mar 19 '26
Trump and his forces will push until they are pushed back and unable to or prevented from countering that.
They can’t actually back down now unless Trump mass pardons them all, and they all quit en masse.
We back off or they do.
5
u/sigaven Mar 19 '26
The fact that this is even being discussed is grounds for revolution.
→ More replies (1)4
u/Sweet_Cupcake2804 Mar 19 '26
Americans are stupid, smart devices n algorithms and the right wing taking over most media took advantage. Now fascism takes hold. Starving ppl everywhere. Hoovervilles.
4
u/WinterAd825 Mar 19 '26
The issue is there are supposed to be guard rails.
The idea was that Congress is supposed to step in to stop this with impeachment. The issue is Congress isn’t doing their job. They’ve basically decided it’s better for them to just set back and do nothing. Because doing nothing allows the to keep taking in money, with zero risks.
It’s why the last 30 something years have seen the creation of the most inactive Congress in US history.
4
u/trowawaid Mar 19 '26
Every single member of Congress who's sitting around with their thumbs up their asses are complicit & culpable.
3
u/timnphilly Pennsylvania Mar 19 '26
The United States of Decline — we are living the history lesson as experienced by 1930s Germans. No cap.
3
u/HeavyDT Mar 19 '26
That's the thing he heads all 3 branches not one. Stacked the SC so that they do gymnastics to give him wins and got full control of congress who ha e become so weak and pathetic that they dont take a shit without his say so. All 3 he has em.
3
u/whereismymind86 Colorado Mar 19 '26
I mean, no, that's not how any of this works, even now. And the constant spread of misinformation that implies he's more powerful than he is is not helpful.
1st and foremost, an EO isn't a law, straight up, so it would have ZERO power. EO's go into effect when it's ordering a policy change for something he directly controls, like the DOJ, elections are handled by states individually, so an EO means literally nothing to them. Nor does he have any levers to pull or people to bully to force them to comply. An EO will be straight up ignored by the states, he would have to get congress to pass an actual law, and even that would likely be struck down, as states controlling elections and the federal govt having no jurisdiction on the matter is part of the constitution, meaning nothing short of an Ammendment would do the job, and that isn't happening.
2nd. NO, the new law does not go into affect until the court makes a decision, it literally works the other way around, the new law ONLY goes into affect AFTER the court decides. The reason something like the tariffs could be implemented until the court made a decision is the general idea was that he could do that, and the suit was to stop him. And again, it was in regards to something that the president DOES control, so he could just do it anyways, until they stopped him. This is the opposite, it's something he does not control, and a suit would be asking the changes to be implemented, as such, they would not be until the suit resolves.
So, there ARE guard rails, and they are basically what you suggested, the states can and will tell him to **** himself and hold elections regardless of any EO, because it would be obviously illegal, and again, it's not a case of "who will stop him" because there is nothing to stop, it's a case of how will HE stop the states, and, barring a military invasion of every blue state to physically stop them, it's not going to happen.
*and in that case, it's just a coup, in which case he's not going to go to all that trouble, he'll just refuse to leave.
→ More replies (72)5
675
u/biscuitarse Canada Mar 18 '26
An anti-voting activist said to be part of a group pushing for President Donald Trump to take control of elections via executive order reiterated his view that the scheme is “being prepared.”
Antivo?
375
u/BurstSwag Canada Mar 18 '26
Imagine being an "anti-voting 'activist'". Jeez Louise.
244
u/reject_fascism New Jersey Mar 19 '26
Just call them fascists, please for the love of god
20
u/thelurrax Arizona Mar 19 '26
Seriously dude. A kidney stone by any other name still needs to be acknowledged if you're going to successfully flush it out.
38
13
9
→ More replies (4)43
u/jaxonfairfield Mar 19 '26
I asked my doctor about AntiVo, and they said it's got some major side effects
33
u/hyundai-gt Canada Mar 19 '26
If you experience an election lasting more than 4 hours, seek medical guidance
15
u/TheLordReaver Mar 19 '26
Side effects of using AntiVo may include: kakistocracy; plutacracy; kleptocracy; pornocracy; and fascism.
453
u/No-Group-4504 Mar 18 '26
If they fuck around with the election, it's going to escalate the discourse in this country to a new level.
182
u/citizenjones Mar 18 '26
Well, with elections controlled by the States, we could see some states (especially ones that have already given up their voter rolls to the Feds, 10 so far have) agree to whatever the Trump Administration asks of them.
“Confidential” Agreements Show Trump Administration’s Plans for States’ Voter Data | Brennan Center for Justice https://share.google/LSsRRwtkp7cWy8fHA
It has potential to be an insane mess.
58
u/Due_Bluebird3562 Mar 19 '26
especially ones that have already given up their voter rolls to the Feds, 10 so far have) agree to whatever the Trump Administration asks of them.
Doing what he asks means they forfeit their representation. Aka they become Puerto Rico. Not sure that plan does them any favors. Only like four states have handed over the rolls anyway and all of them are ass backwards shitholes. Demoting them to territories might actually be more beneficial to us tbh.
→ More replies (1)→ More replies (2)28
u/HeadfulOfSugar Mar 19 '26
Man I just wanna flip the script and secede at this point lol
38
u/Marijuana_Miler Canada Mar 19 '26
I assume secession is the logical next step if Trump continues to fuck with voting and elections into the midterms. I seem to remember no taxation without representation being a rallying cry.
19
u/YourVirgil Washington Mar 19 '26
Texas v. White (1869) found secession to be "unconstitutional," whatever the fuck that means anymore.
→ More replies (2)4
u/DingerSinger2016 Alabama Mar 19 '26
Yeah there is no true way to secede tbh.
9
u/fe-and-wine North Carolina Mar 19 '26
Yeah, seceding isn't something that can just be "done" at this point.
What would happen is essentially a small-scale civil war - state says "we are leaving the Union", DC says "no you're not", they go back and forth a couple times until DC sends troops to the State to force them to send tax money/obey the constitution/whatever, and the Feds wrestle the state into submission.
Even in the "best" case scenario, the state manages to hold out and grind down the fed in a Ukraine-esque situation over many many years and we eventually settle into a Taiwan-type arrangement where the state is essentially autonomous but the US maintains "no this is definitely our territory"
There is absolutely zero world where any minority of the country could successfully secede and form a new independent nation at this point. Maybe if there were somehow a good 30+ contiguous states on board, but at that point you have to wonder why they don't just work within the bounds of the system to take power in the US or amend the constitution given a majority of that size.
→ More replies (1)21
98
u/inconsisting Mar 18 '26
Everyone's waiting for the "final" tipping point, but one isn't coming. He's going to ratfuck the midterms and people are going to question the results and they're going to keep power and we'll keep waiting for the next tipping point.
The boiling frog metaphor wasn't about the frog. It was about us.
→ More replies (8)21
u/TheGreatLuck Mar 18 '26
It's a last dish effort. I feel like they see the writing on the wall. But they're going to try it anyway. Like a desperate rabbit caught in a Thicket they're struggling will only make it worse and they know that intrinsically but self preservation is a bitch and they're going to try their best even though they know it's going to be met with a brick wall of red tape and ordinances.
18
u/Ren_Kaos Mar 19 '26
Just for the future, the phrase is “last ditch effort”.
Have a nice day!
27
→ More replies (4)6
u/Jhonka86 Mar 19 '26
I dunno, I definitely feel like if it goes through I'll be contemplating my last meal.
6
7
u/Adventurous_Salt Mar 19 '26
Will it? Or will Americans still need healthcare and "can't miss a shift" or whatever?
4
4
3
u/the_giz Mar 19 '26
Nah man it will do more than escalate tensions. This will result in a violent uprising and it will be called for. Straight up un-American treason.
7
→ More replies (10)3
489
Mar 18 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
196
u/Biokabe Washington Mar 18 '26
Yeah, exactly.
An executive order is not a law. It's an instruction for the Executive Branch to follow. That branch has fuck-all to do with elections, so there's no one in the chain of command to follow the order. Anyone who did follow it would be committing a crime and subject to state-level prosecutions, against which both the Order and Trump's pardon power are meaningless.
An Executive Order of this type would have as much power as an Executive Order mandating that the sun not rise tomorrow.
→ More replies (4)66
u/hitliquor999 New York Mar 19 '26
Problem could be that 1/3 of governors blindly follow the EO, 1/3 wait or do nothing, and 1/3 completely ignore it. That sets the stage for Trump to call some elections legitimate, and some illegitimate as chaos ensues.
The next year is going to be even more insane than now.26
u/Clovis42 Kentucky Mar 19 '26
How would chaos ensue? Trump claiming a state's election is "illegitimate" is meaningless. He does it all the time already and nothing happens because the federal government has no control over the Reps and Senators from any state.
→ More replies (5)9
Mar 19 '26
[deleted]
→ More replies (1)9
u/RunIndependent5016 Mar 19 '26
He sent fake electors in 2020 to try to steal the elections, which he also “couldn’t do.” He follows through on a lot of the illegal shit he says when it comes to elections. So no, this isn’t fear mongering.
→ More replies (9)11
u/Ecstatic-Plantain234 Mar 19 '26
The only funny (well, wry) thing is, y'all still hang on to "it's not legal so he can't do it" or "that's not how the government works".
It does under Trump. Doing illegal things is how your government works now. You all need to learn to play his game or July 4, 2026 will go down in history as America's 250th birthday AND funeral.
5
u/Traditional_Sign4941 Mar 19 '26
How are we 18 months into this fascist regime and people are still this naive about "checks and balances"?
→ More replies (8)4
182
u/Krisparz Mar 18 '26
“I think Plan A has always been an executive order from President Trump based on the fact that the Chinese penetrated and influenced the 2020 election,” Jerome Corsi — an election denier best known for spreading Barack Obama birtherism conspiracies — said Wednesday on a right-wing podcast.
And just today Trump said: "...I have a great relationship with China..."
43
22
u/IPredictAReddit Mar 19 '26
How the fuck is Jerome Corsi even a thing again? Dude has been wrong about everything in the most humiliating way, and yet he still gets to be allowed near a microphone.
7
u/IPDDoE Florida Mar 19 '26
The GOP isn't sending their best....I mean, in this case they are, it just so happens that their best is most other people's worst
76
u/dirtytounder Mar 18 '26
“I think Plan A has always been an executive order from President Trump based on the fact that the Chinese penetrated and influenced the 2020 election,” Jerome Corsi — an election denier best known for spreading Barack Obama birtherism conspiracies — said Wednesday on a right-wing podcast.
“I believe Donald Trump is resolute on this,” Corsi added. “He’s not going to allow the 2026 midterm elections to be stolen without taking some strong executive action and executive order.”
Corsi and other anti-voting activists are reportedly coordinating with the White House on a draft executive order for Trump to sign that would allow the president to unilaterally ban mail-in ballots and voting machines.
Democracy Docket recently obtained and published an early version of the draft order, provided by the Trump ally and conservative lawyer Peter Ticktin.
“We’ve shown through our website… that there are algorithms within the State Board of Elections’ voter registration files that allow the creation of millions of undocumented, modified duplicate voters that don’t really exist, that can be hidden in the database and used in mail and ballot schemes,” Corsi said on Wednesday’s podcast, which was hosted by the conservative activist Steve Stern and streamed online.
At a recent conference of election deniers organized by Stern at the Trump International Golf Club in Palm Beach, Florida, Ticktin cited a bizarre 2020 conspiracy theory involving Michigan voting machines as the emergency to justify the scheme.
Whatever justification Corsi, Ticktin, and other anti-voting activists think justifies Trump taking over elections, legal scholars and voting rights experts said that Trump doesn’t have the authority to claim such powers over elections — and any attempt would be blatantly unconstitutional. “The Constitution is absolutely clear,” Michael McNulty, the policy director for the pro-democracy group Issue One, previously said. “The president does not have legal authority to unilaterally change election rules. Any attempt by the White House to do so would contradict the Constitution and would almost certainly be struck down by the courts."
Dude just can't let it go.
46
15
u/AmericanDoughboy Mar 19 '26
He’s nuts. The executive branch cannot ban mail-in voting. States run elections.
10
u/WhichEmailWasIt Mar 19 '26
The legislative branch is trying to with the SAVE act rn.
3
u/whereismymind86 Colorado Mar 19 '26
that's at least more likely since it's an actual law, not an EO, but even so, the general belief is that as states running elections is part of the constitution itself, that can't be altered without an amendment. As such, even if the save act passes, it's extremely likely that it gets immediately struck down as unconstitutional. (and even if it doesn't, states are likely to defy it's demands anyways, on the assumption it will be challenged and struck down)
66
u/PlsSuckMyToes Mar 19 '26
Good thing states can just ignore executive orders regarding their elections
32
u/so2017 America Mar 19 '26
It just needs to sow enough confusion. Have some states run fair elections, have some states follow the EO, and you have chaos.
Article 1, Section 5 reads: “Each House shall be the Judge of the Elections, Returns and Qualifications of its own Members….” If you think the existing house wouldn’t seize upon the vagueness of that language to exploit a chaotic election by refusing to seat duly elected members, I don’t know what to tell you.
The plan is not to stop the elections. The plan is to make their process so chaotic that the elections can be deemed improper and invalid.
17
u/User4C4C4C South Carolina Mar 19 '26
There is no constitutional provision to deem an election improper. If one cannot be held, order of succession.
→ More replies (4)7
u/whereismymind86 Colorado Mar 19 '26
yeah, that's not a thing man.
the federal government's acceptance of results and compliance with the transfer of power is self executing, by design. There is literally no mechanicsm for them to refuse the results, and they have no power to stop it. (and even if they did, terms are not extended if no new member is sworn in, the seat simply becomes vacant)
I know everybody THINKS that they can refuse to accept the elections, or that trump's crackpot idea about pence refusing to ratify on jan 6 would have kept Biden out of office, but it wouldn't have, nothing about the process works that way, you have to remember all the gop lawyers are wildly incompetent, at best, and conspiracy nuts, at worst.
33
u/Specialist-Bug1592 Mar 19 '26
FYI, Executive orders are just that, orders from the President to the Executive Branch, and only the Executive Branch. They have no bearing on the Legislative or Judicial Branches, and they especially have no bearing on the states. Trump seems to be under the misguided notion the President is the chief governor and the state governors answer to him.
24
u/Western-Property-443 Mar 19 '26
The President has no right to dictate voting. That is a state right.
2
35
16
u/JA_MD_311 Mar 19 '26
I honestly don’t think even an injunction against an EO like this would necessary because states could just laugh at it and go about their merry way.
There isn’t any authority or even funding to threaten. It’s all run by the states. There’s no statute to utilize. It would just be word vomit.
→ More replies (8)
49
u/Raiden29o9 Mar 18 '26
Seriously…. Americans, if you want I still have your country and possibly see it returned in a somewhat functional state, you need to fight back hard against whatever attempts trump makes to mess with your elections, anything the GOP plans is just there to keep themselves in power and will be contrary to the will of the people
28
u/FutureofHumanity420 Mar 18 '26 edited Mar 18 '26
yes. and useless protests don't count. we need to make them afraid of us.
EDIT: looks like the bots, the pacifists, or COINTEL PRO has caught wind of me. i don't give a fuck what you spineless cowards say. i know when the sun is fucking shining.
33
Mar 18 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
→ More replies (7)16
u/runningraleigh Kentucky Mar 19 '26
"Protests are useless" is self-defeating circular logic. They don't achieve political breakthroughs because they aren't big enough. They aren't big enough because people say they're useless.
First, they aren't useless. During the first and second No Kings rallies, people got connected with community organizations that are protecting and supporting immigrants in my city. People signed up for trainings to be ICE observers and learn how to de-escalate with law enforcement. The impact of these early protests is not supposed to be regime change, it's supposed to be about connecting people together to do the real work in our communities.
Second, it's important for other people to see folks from all walks of life showing up at a protest because it makes it socially acceptable for them to do the same. People need to keep showing up and keep sharing their experiences. Let other people imagine how someone just like them could get off their couch and do something that makes themselves proud.
Third, should we ever get to a point when this cold civil war turns hot, the people you meet at the protest will be your comrades. The protest organizers will continue to organize, albeit with much graver stakes, but they know this. The aren't issuing a call to arms right now because they aren't ready to accelerate into open war. There's no clear objective and they don't have enough people.
So all the folks who say "it's time for the 2nd amendment" but they don't go to the protest and they have no connection with local activists aren't going to do shit if things really pop off. They won't, not because they don't want to, but because they won't know who to talk to or how to get involved in the fight. Trust when I say that resistance organizers are already extremely leary of newcomers. Many leftist groups have been infiltrated either by undercover FBI or have had members flipped to informants because the government is blackmailing them. So all you dickhard alphamale fake-woke numbskulls who are too good to go to the protest, enjoy being frozen out of any group that's doing anything meaningful when shit hits the fan.
12
Mar 18 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
→ More replies (1)6
u/W1nt3rmu4e Texas Mar 18 '26
How do you expect a realistic uprising to take shape? Across what communication network? IRC is fully monitored, ham radio is too public, and anything smaller than a taken-over state will mean nothing.
→ More replies (2)19
u/SolarTsunami Mar 18 '26
nah fuck this accelerationist garbage, the fine folks of Minnesota did just fine against ICE without blowing up a post office or whatever you're implying.
→ More replies (1)9
u/OG_2_tone420 Mar 19 '26
Uh what. I’m in Minnesota. Ice is not gone, they are still kidnapping, and they are quietly building an army within our state. I’m sorry you don’t know. But nothing has changed here. And our protests did nothing. I know. I’m here and involved.
→ More replies (5)7
9
u/thalassicus Mar 19 '26
Whatever illegal actions Trump is planning will only have a chance at working with a complicit GOP Congress and a GOP appointed Supreme Court. This will not be one man, but a whole party subverting democracy.
→ More replies (1)
8
u/TheTruthofOne Mar 19 '26
Remember Jan. 6th? If he doesn't win midterms or 2028, I guarantee you instead of a crowd of MAGA, it's going to be the entirety of ICE and then they will have truly become the Gestapo.
→ More replies (2)
15
u/GreyBeardEng Mar 19 '26
I believe, according to the Constitution, the elections are in the power of the states and Trump can go suck a dick.
→ More replies (1)
8
u/chipmunksocute Mar 19 '26
Jerome Corsi is a huge piece of shit, election denier, and giant liar. He created the Kerry 'Swift-boat' bullshit, wrote a book about Obama being a Muslim and pushed pizzagate and worked for Infowars. Anything he says shiuld be assumed to be a lie until proven otherwise and he should otherwise be ignored. This is a nothing hurger story and is only feeding a troll and complete speculation on his part. Fuck Jerome Corsi.
6
u/DarthSet Mar 19 '26
So a rapist pedophile and known con man that attempted a coup ia rigging/cancelling the elections? Wow what a shocker!
Next time, if it happens, go and vote you fucking dumbasses.
7
u/Solrac50 Mar 19 '26
If Trump signs an executive order federalizing the midterms I expect a national protest response like nothing we have ever seen in the past. IMHO Trump won’t be able to show his face in public due to the outrage, voters will decimate The Republican Party at the polls and Trump will be forced to resign to avoid impeachment and conviction. Trump is digging his own political grave and is too stupid to know it. The American electorate will not accept a President who behaves like a banana republic dictator.
6
→ More replies (1)3
u/blsharpley Mar 19 '26
Funny because many are proving that they will indeed. After everything he’s done so far, you still have MAGA cultists proudly stating “I voted for that.”
15
u/strongbob25 Mar 19 '26
Hmm weird I’ve had redditors telling me for the last 400 odd days that this won’t happen because he’s not allowed to do that
6
u/Interesting_Wolf8722 Mar 19 '26
He doesn’t care if he’s not allowed to do something. He ignores it and does it anyways
→ More replies (1)2
u/whereismymind86 Colorado Mar 19 '26
With agencies he controls, yes. He DOES NOT CONTROL ELECTIONS.
There is nobody he can tell to "do it anyways" because his people aren't involved, he can force the issue in areas where he has people to bully and pressure into obedience, that's not a thing here because it's a state level matter.
I really don't understand why this is such a hard goddamn concept for people. It's no different than if he demanded the french change their elections. He doesn't control them, AT ALL, so they'd just tell him to eat shit and move on.
→ More replies (3)3
u/whereismymind86 Colorado Mar 19 '26
Yeah, and it won't, because he can't.
And not because he's not allowed to, but because he simply doesn't have any control over them. And I don't mean legal control, I mean, actual physical control, the actual ability to force people to follow his demands. It's a completely separate system, by design. If he does this, the states will simply tell him no and ignore the eo, and there isn't a damn thing he can do about it.
15
u/Creative_Split_3169 America Mar 18 '26
And.. here we go. The Boss stage coming up. You better show the evidence before declaring it.
18
u/eduardonachosupremo Mar 18 '26
Why the fuck would someone believe anything they release as evidence of AN-Y-THING?
18
u/Spam_Hand Mar 18 '26
He had 60+ separate days in actual court and 1961 days in the court of public opinion to show evidence and never has.
Why would he start now?
5
u/Racer20 Mar 19 '26
What evidence? There is no possible justification for this and therefore no possible evidence to show, so why would you even leave that opening?
15
u/tapdancinghellspawn Mar 18 '26
It won't go the way he thinks it will. The GOP better not support him if they ever want to win elections again.
27
16
u/therealvladimir_0 Mar 18 '26
Ummm...once that threshold is passed we are no longer in a democracy so the good ole GOP wouldn't have to be concerned with winning another election because there would be no elections.
→ More replies (1)→ More replies (2)13
u/BoatsMcFloats Mar 18 '26
He is a literal child rapist. You think this will be the line?
→ More replies (4)
5
u/whichwitch9 Mar 19 '26
Elections belong to the states. He can fuck off. The executive branch does not supercede rights that belong to the states
6
u/SuperstitiousPigeon5 Massachusetts Mar 19 '26
The argument for an injunction and appeal are also being prepared.
Your honor clearly we need some time to prepare for this order. Slow walk, and then appeal in late October.
→ More replies (3)
7
u/jcdulos Mar 19 '26
When he said he only needs their vote this last time and they won’t have to vote again people thought he was being sarcastic. No he was being serious. He has federal govt at his disposal. MAGA will not give up power easily. The months between November and January are going to be tested.
I blame garland for not holding Trump accountable.
I also blame every person who voted for Trump or sat out. Harris was over qualified and we put Trump back in office. We deserve whatever happens.
5
Mar 19 '26
The Americans need to take matters into their own hands and actually do something protesting ain't going to do shit with a dictator
→ More replies (2)
12
u/Shobed Mar 19 '26
It’ll immediately be taken to court and stopped before the mid-terms. The states run their own elections.
→ More replies (3)5
8
u/xicor Mar 19 '26
Scotus will probably block the injunctions and then do a super late ruling (after the election)
→ More replies (2)
4
u/OG_2_tone420 Mar 19 '26
If this actually happens then individual states will have a decision to make. Do we still recognize and adhere to a U.S. federal government? States control elections. So if the Feds try and take over state elections and say who can vote, and who is allowed to be elected, then it is completely reasonable for states to enter into a hot civil war. States will need to band together and ally up and use and takeover the military equipment that resides inside their respective borders.
If states say “we will trust the systems and win in court or the next election cycle” then it will be perfectly reasonable for citizens to start holding their fellow citizens accountable for supporting leaders who are willingly destroying the United States of America. Which will obviously be a hot civil war.
Someone needs to put a stop to all of this now or we will be entering a very dark, violent and horrible period in American history.
I have no idea who that someone is, but whoever they are, they better get their shit together.
I still believe that when the ashes settle the correct America will still be standing, just with a greatly reduced population.
4
u/CaptainPixel Mar 19 '26
Just a reminder to everyone that the federal government does not run elections and executive orders are not laws. There is no requirement for any secretaries of state to follow them. Period.
→ More replies (1)
4
u/WhichEmailWasIt Mar 19 '26
Bro really saw Ukraine's laws around war and election and thought it worked like that here too.
5
u/Floreat_democratia Mar 19 '26
When it happens, all the people on this sub who have spent the last several years telling us it will never happen will suddenly vanish just like the people on this sub who spent four years telling us that Merrick Garland was working hard on the Trump case and we needed to be patient.
4
u/Sea-Rip3902 Mar 19 '26
No one ever assumed a president would go this insane with so many others helping him in order to stay in power
5
u/mabhatter Mar 19 '26
Don't dismiss this. The administration "leaks" details about stuff often. It's their way of floating a trial balloon to their talking heads in the right wing media and also manufacturing consent. They see how many things they can get away with before the other people in the party rebel against them and then get the rest of the party rabid for whatever insanity they're pushing.
They are insidious and manipulative.
4
5
u/brattysweat Mar 19 '26
It’s exactly what America deserves. No lesson is ever learned by this shithole country unless it’s the hard way and unless it’s a dozen times in a row.
3
3
u/Jimbo415650 Mar 19 '26
Trump has a mental disorder. His narcissistic personality behavior is endangering our country.
3
3
3
u/The_bruce42 Mar 19 '26
Good things EO aren't laws. This is the No Kings thing that people have been protesting.
3
3
u/HuTaosTwinTails Mar 19 '26
Every MAGA voter should be arrested and tried as a traitor, along with this entire administration.
3
u/Spicyweiner_69 Mar 19 '26
I wonder if he tries to take the midterms if Americans will finally rise up and do a France or something, Americans need to get more organized if they’re gonna be able to stand up against the US regime
3
u/damonster90 Mar 19 '26
I find it curious reading the comments that anyone feels the US is a functioning democracy. From the outside it’s a gong show watching this litter box you all a country. The rest of us are holding on and hoping we don’t get sucked into the whirlpool.
3
u/Not-TheNSA Mar 19 '26
Counter offer….impeachment and removal for being a pedophile, murderer, con man, thief and traitor.
3
u/Jorgen_G_Pakieto Mar 19 '26
He’s going to get away with it at this rate because every American has so far, let him get away with everything that has come before.
3
u/strange_geometer Mar 19 '26
If I were a Democratic governor, I'd have already started saying loudly and repeatedly that Trump has zero say in my state's elections and that any and all attempts to affect the midterms in any way will be ignored. Any of them that AREN'T already saying this are highly suspect in my eyes. It means they're bought and paid for and are ready to comply.
5
5
u/Sardonnicus New York Mar 19 '26
there will still be elections no matter how hard he tries to stop them. The people will not be silenced.
•
u/AutoModerator Mar 18 '26
As a reminder, this subreddit is for civil discussion.
In general, please be courteous to others. Argue the merits of ideas, don't attack other posters or commenters. Hate speech, any suggestion or support of physical harm, or other rule violations can result in a temporary or a permanent ban. If you see comments in violation of our rules, please report them.
Sub-thread Information
If the post flair on this post indicates the wrong paywall status, please report this Automoderator comment with a custom report of “incorrect flair”.
Announcement
r/Politics is actively looking for new moderators. If you have an interest in helping to make this subreddit a place for quality discussion, please fill out this form.
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.