▲ U.S. President Donald Trump
U.S. President Donald Trump is mobilizing the full authority of his administration to reshape voting systems, electoral districts, and election security protocols in his favor ahead of the midterm elections this November, The New York Times reported on July 2 (local time).
The newspaper analyzed that even though several of these attempts have already been blocked by the courts, they are also aimed at fostering distrust in the electoral process and laying the groundwork to challenge future election results.
The New York Times categorized the Trump administration's actions into six areas: expanding federal authority over election administration, tightening voting restrictions, gerrymandering, reducing election security, sowing distrust by questioning past elections, and retaliating against dissenting officials.
According to the report, although the Constitution grants states the authority to manage elections and Congress the power to enact federal election laws, President Trump is attempting to expand his administration's control over overall election management, including voter registration and mail-in voting, through executive orders.
Based on this, the U.S. Department of Justice demanded that states submit full voter rolls containing sensitive personal information and filed lawsuits against states that refused, but many of these efforts have been blocked by the courts.
The Department of Homeland Security also investigated voter rolls to check for illegal voting by non-citizens but failed to find evidence of widespread voter fraud.
President Trump has also pressured Congress to pass election legislation that would codify key parts of these executive orders into federal law.
The bill, known as the "SAVE America Act," includes provisions that would mandate the submission of proof of citizenship for voter registration, require photo identification for voting, and compel states to submit their voter rolls to the Department of Homeland Security.
The New York Times pointed out that in Republican-controlled states such as Texas, North Carolina, and Missouri, the redrawing of electoral districts to favor the Republican Party has been carried out overtly ahead of the midterm elections.
Furthermore, President Trump has continued to seek evidence to support his claims of election fraud, such as demanding investigations and the submission of records and voting equipment from the 2020 presidential election, which he has refused to concede.
The newspaper also reported that there have been measures targeting individuals who opposed his claims of election fraud, including the removal of prosecutors and FBI agents who participated in investigations related to the January 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol attack or the 2020 presidential election.
While many of President Trump's measures have not been implemented due to court rulings, analysts suggest they are closer to a strategy of fueling distrust in the entire electoral system and preparing a basis to challenge future results should they prove unfavorable.
Sean Morales-Doyle, director of the Voting Rights and Elections Program at the Brennan Center, said, "The goal of this series of moves is not to change policy itself, but to sow distrust and confusion about elections to discourage voter participation and to create a basis for challenging the results after the election."
(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)
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