Secretaries of State React to Latest Executive Order
Minnesota's Secretary of State vowed to fight the order, while North Dakota's said their office was still reviewing the edict and would see how it would impact mail-in voting in the state.
FARGO, N.D. (KVRR) – President Trump, in signing his “Ensuring Citizenship Verification and Integrity in Federal Elections” executive order, struck a confident tone, feeling he has the legal authority to create lists of U.S. citizens who are eligible to vote in each state, and instructing the U.S. Postal Service to send mail ballots only to verified voters.
Democratic state officials, though, are sounding a different tune.
“The Constitution is extremely clear. States oversee elections. Congress has not passed any law on this subject, and Trump is once again just trying to unconstitutionally take control,” said Colorado’s Secretary of State, Jena Griswold.
One such individual standing in opposition is Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon.
He quickly put out a statement, saying, in part, “Our office has helped stop his actions before and we are now exploring our legal options to stop this new order from taking effect.”
“The President’s attempts to create chaos, stoke fears, and undermine our elections will not work,” he also said.
Simon is affiliated with the Minnesota DFL.
His counterpart in North Dakota, Michael Howe, is a Republican, and his statement was noticeably more guarded.
It said, in part, “Our office is still reviewing the Executive Order and learning about how and if this would affect North Dakota’s secure vote by mail process.”
It did not address whether or not the state would comply with the order and supply the federal government with lists of registered voters, only that the order would have no impact on the upcoming June primaries, as those are not federal elections.
The Trump administration says it is issuing this executive order to cut down on illegal voting done via mail-in ballot.
Opponents say that regulation should be left to individual states – and that the administration is engaging in voter suppression with this order.
