Trump says he will seek to impose nationwide voter ID rules through an executive order if Congress fails to pass new election laws ahead of the November midterms
With the November midterm elections approaching and control of the legislature at stake, US President Donald Trump said on Friday that he is prepared to bypass Congress to introduce new nationwide voting laws.
Trump stated that he would soon issue an executive order to enforce the changes if lawmakers do not approve legislation requiring photo identification to vote, along with other reforms.
Warning of legal confrontation
Any such move would likely face immediate legal challenges, potentially placing the matter before the Supreme Court.
“There will be Voter I.D. for the Midterm Elections, whether approved by Congress or not!” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
“If we can’t get it through Congress, there are Legal reasons why this SCAM is not permitted. I will be presenting them shortly, in the form of an Executive Order,” he wrote.
Although many jurisdictions across the United States already require photo identification to cast ballots, others do not. Trump and several Republicans have argued, without evidence, that areas lacking such requirements have enabled significant voter fraud.
‘SAVE America’ act passes House
The Trump-backed “SAVE America” election reform act was approved this week in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives.
However, it is expected to fail in the Senate, where the Republican majority is too slim to pass the law without Democratic support.
In addition to requiring a photo ID to cast a ballot, the bill would also require proof of citizenship to register to vote.
There is no evidence of meaningful fraud in US elections and critics say that the bill’s measures would instead push millions of people away from casting ballots, because they don’t have a passport or a paper copy of their birth certificate.
An analysis by the Brennan Center found more than 21 million Americans lack easy access to such documents.
This would “disenfranchise Americans of all ages,” the center found – especially young people and ethnic minorities.
Trump’s push for federal election reforms has also run up against constitutional concerns. Under the US Constitution, states retain broad control over the administration of elections. It was unclear how Trump could legally force a national mandate on voter ID. However, the 79-year-old Republican has repeatedly overturned norms in the White House.
In his post Friday, he repeated his widely debunked claim that more election security is needed because of mass fraud.
For years, Trump has propagated the falsehood to justify his unprecedented – and ultimately unsuccessful – attempt to overturn his 2020 election loss to Democrat Joe Biden.
Polls show that Trump’s Republican Party faces a serious threat of losing its narrow control of Congress in the midterms, particularly the lower chamber. If Democrats win, they have signalled they will block Trump’s agenda and could move to impeach him.
(With agency inputs)
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