Overview
- Trump repeated unsubstantiated claims of widespread fraud and illegal noncitizen voting as he called for Republicans to take control of election administration.
- Legal scholars and officials from both parties said a federal takeover would be unconstitutional because states run elections under the U.S. Constitution.
- GOP leaders signaled support for stricter voter-ID measures but declined to back federalizing elections, with Senate leader John Thune saying he is not in favor of it.
- State secretaries of state from Colorado, Nevada, Vermont and others publicly rejected any federal intrusion and stressed that elections will continue to be administered locally.
- The remarks followed an FBI search of Fulton County, Georgia’s elections office for 2020 records, and come after DOJ demands for statewide voter rolls and a citizenship order that courts have largely blocked.