Thinking about Elections

ELECTIONS: WHAT AN EXECUTIVE ORDER CAN AND CANNOT DO. The president’s recent executive order (EO 14399) would create federal lists of eligible voters to send to each state and restrict the use of mail-in ballots. However, just because he’s issued an EO won’t make it happen. It’s not easy to use an EO to change election procedures because the constitution doesn’t allow it. The Constitution gives the states and Congress authority over elections, not the president. This recent EO faces the same constitutional questions that ultimately blocked the 2025 election-related EO that required documentation of citizenship to register to vote if using the federal voter registration form. Namely, the president lacks authority to unilaterally change election procedures.

Two links with this post. One examines what EO 14399 actually says and how it’s disjointed and non-functional. It’s quite an interesting read. The other outlines what an EO is and how it’s different from a law. It’s short, easy to understand, and provides good examples from history up to the present.

Every president since Washington has issued executive orders, but when those EOs are not authorized by the Constitution, or they violate federal laws, the courts must step in. Multiple lawsuits have been filed challenging the constitutionality of EO 14399. An EO can legally tell federal agencies how to implement a statute, but it cannot override federal laws and statutes, and it cannot write a new statute.

https://www.lawfaremedia.org/article/what-is-trump-s--election-integrity--order-even-trying-to-achieve

https://www.aclu.org/news/privacy-technology/what-is-an-executive-order-and-how-does-it-work