President Trump has been pushing the Republican congressional majority to pass the SAVE America Act for a year, and while the House has done so a number of times, the measure is stalled in the Senate.
So, with the midterm elections looming closer, it appears the president is through waiting on Congress and is taking action himself to secure the midterm elections.
Trump is continuing a broad effort to reshape the nation’s election system through executive actions, administrative changes and legislative proposals after courts blocked some of his earlier initiatives.
Critics, including many Democrats, have described the strategy as “death by a thousand cuts,” arguing that the administration is pursuing incremental changes across multiple areas of election policy rather than relying on a single comprehensive overhaul.
Last week, Trump significantly reduced the role of the little-known Election Assistance Commission, a move that prompted concern from some election officials who warned it could affect cybersecurity support provided to state and local election offices.
The changes are part of a broader effort the administration has pursued since Trump returned to the White House.
In addition to issuing executive orders aimed at changing election policy—several of which have been challenged in court—Trump has continued urging congressional Republicans to pass the SAVE Act, which would require individuals to provide proof of U.S. citizenship when registering to vote in federal elections.
The Justice Department has expanded its election oversight efforts, requesting that states provide voter registration records and sending letters last week warning state officials they could face prosecution if non-citizens are permitted to vote.
Federal law already prohibits non-citizens from voting in federal elections, and more than a dozen courts have rejected Justice Department efforts to require states to turn over voter registration records.
At the same time, the Department of Homeland Security warned states that federal election security funding could be jeopardized if they decline to use a federal system to verify voter citizenship.
During a primetime address on Thursday, Trump argued that newly released classified information bolsters the case for stronger election safeguards. Democratic officials and lawmakers disputed those claims.
“This is a concerted effort of death by a thousand cuts,” complained Ingham County, Michigan, Clerk Barb Byrum, a Democrat.
“Every day is another battle, but the war that we’re fighting is to maintain our democracy,” he claimed.
Trump, of course, is making the same argument noting that ‘democracy’ is at risk if elections are not free and fair.
With the midterm elections less than four months away, Democrats and election officials argue that the administration’s expanding efforts to revise election rules and increase oversight of election administration could have significant long-term political implications.
“Do I think this is part of the pattern and intentionality of undermining confidence in elections? Yes, yes, I do,” Ann Jacobs, a Democratic member of the Wisconsin Elections Commission, said.
“The constant drumbeat since 2020 has been specifically designed to do that, and it’s distressing,” she added.
During his Thursday primetime address, Trump authorized the release of classified documents that he said contain evidence of Chinese interference in U.S. elections, particularly during the 2020 election cycle, as well as what he described as efforts by intelligence officials and political leaders to conceal that activity.
“First, they show that over a period of years, starting during the 2020 election cycle, the People’s Republic of China carried out what is believed to be the largest compromise of election data in history, resulting in China’s illicit acquisition of 220 million US voter files,” the president stated.
“That information includes names, addresses, phone numbers, political party preferences, and other sensitive data that would be needed to register to vote and engage in other nefarious activities—which is exactly what was happening,” he continued.
“This data loss presents an unprecedented election security nightmare.”
