Admin Pressures States on Elections    07/09 06:09

   

   (AP) -- President Donald Trump's administration is threatening to withhold 
some federal funding from states that don't make changes to voting practices 
and is warning state election officials that they face arrest if they don't 
remove noncitizens from voter rolls.

   Letters to states and grant application details are the latest in a line of 
actions by Trump's administration to shape details of running elections that 
have long been the job of states.

   Courts have largely rejected the administration's previous efforts, which 
reflect untrue claims about widespread voting fraud and come less than four 
months ahead of crucial midterm elections where Democrats seek to take control 
of one or both chambers of Congress and check Trump's power.

   "The overall point is that Trump is trying to use whatever levers of power 
and persuasive power that he might have to try to interfere with how states and 
localities are going to conduct the 2026 election," said Rick Hasen, a UCLA law 
professor and the director of the Safeguarding Democracy Project. "Some of this 
is aimed at changing how the rules are conducted. Some of it appears to be 
aimed at undermining voter confidence in the integrity of the election process."

   Justice Department warns election officials of prosecution

   In letters sent Tuesday, to election officials for all 50 states and the 
District of Columbia -- often secretaries of state -- the Department of 
Justice's Civil Rights Division said they and other election administrators 
could face criminal charges if they knowingly allow nonvoters to vote or remain 
on voting rolls.

   It also called on the states to tell the federal government within five days 
how they intend to comply with the law.

   Derek Muller, a law professor at the University of Notre Dame who 
specializes in election law, said it's not clear the 50-state letter means 
anything except to restate some parts of the law, with a request to follow up, 
"which I'm sure many states will ignore."

   The letter also warns that anyone who knowingly and willfully gives false 
information in registering to vote or voting would face criminal prosecution.

   Robert Weiner, director of the voting rights project for the Lawyers 
Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, said the rate of voting by noncitizens is 
"infinitesimally small," and he suggested the government's actions are 
motivated by factors other than securing elections.

   "I predict that the president is trying to create chaos and then use that 
chaos to take drastic measures in states that oppose his policies or to refuse 
to recognize the results of the elections in those states," Weiner said.

   Antiterrorism grants include election requirements

   A Federal Emergency Management Agency antiterrorism grant announcement in 
June includes a list of election-related requirements, saying that 20% of 
grants for states and urban areas would be withheld until they comply.

   The program includes more than $1 billion for states and local and tribal 
governments for a variety of programs aimed at preventing terror at crowded 
places, online, with border security -- and around elections. FEMA expects to 
award 56 grants.

   "Recipients can ensure that their efforts contribute to a secure, 
transparent, and resilient electoral process, thereby reinforcing public trust 
and the integrity of democratic institutions," the grant announcement says, 
noting that securing election infrastructure is a national security priority.

   The list of items for states includes verifying the citizenship of all 
registered voters and election workers.

   Places that use electronic voting systems that use bar codes or QR codes to 
count votes would have to submit plans to switch to hand-marked paper ballots. 
Every jurisdiction would have to show it audits results.

   UCLA's Hasen said it could be difficult even for states that want to comply. 
It's too close to the midterm election to make some of the changes, he said, 
and some would require state legislatures to pass new laws.

   The White House on Wednesday referred questions to FEMA, which did not 
immediately respond to an interview request.

   Response from states appears to be partisan

   Some states are pushing back, while others are defending the latest actions.

   They seem to be breaking along party lines.

   Oregon's secretary of state, Democrat Tobias Read, accused the Justice 
Department of "knocking on our door again with more threats and no evidence to 
back up their fever dreams about non-existent voter fraud."

   Oregon elections are secure, accurate, and fair, he said, adding that he 
isn't "intimidated by political threats or manufactured controversy."

   The Michigan secretary of state's office, headed by Democrat Jocelyn Benson, 
said it has discussed its work repeatedly with the Justice Department and in 
public statements, congressional hearings and court testimony -- information 
that it said "is either in the DOJ's possession or easy reach."

   "We will be happy to provide it again to help address any confusion," the 
office said in a statement.

   In a statement, Ohio Republican Secretary of State Frank LaRose defended the 
Justice Department's missive to states, saying it's reminding them of their 
legal obligation regarding election integrity. A lot of states aren't taking it 
seriously, he said without giving examples or citing evidence. He said Ohio has 
worked with the federal government to ensure that its voter rolls are accurate 
and that only U.S. citizens vote.

   Georgia's secretary of state's office says the state has already taken many 
of the actions required in the FEMA grant, including a citizenship audit of 
voter rolls.

   Several of Trump's election actions have faced resistance

   Trump has repeatedly and wrongly asserted that fraud cost him reelection in 
2020, and his administration has put forth a series of policies and actions 
aimed at how elections are run.

   In recent days, courts have rejected the Justice Department's effort to 
collect the names and contact information for every election worker in Georgia 
in the 2020 election and others trying to force New Hampshire and Pennsylvania 
to turn over detailed information about registered voters. With those rulings, 
the federal government has lost similar cases more than 10 times around its 
requests for details from 30 states and the District of Columbia.

   Last week, a group of Democratic governors asked the U.S. Postal Service to 
withdraw its proposed rule seeking to implement an order from Trump to create a 
list of eligible voters -- and potentially limit who can receive a ballot in 
the mail. A court previously put the order on hold, saying it was 
unconstitutional.

   Also last week, the Supreme Court rebuked Trump and ruled that states can 
count mailed ballots that arrive after Election Day.