Mother Jones

03/26/2025

Perhaps the most disturbing part of the executive order, aside from all the suppressive policies, is how it purports to give the president power over elections that he does not have.

“Don’t waste time on which parts of his elections order might be good, bad or a mixed bag were they enacted by a legitimate authority such as a state legislature or Congress (as the case may be),” the Cato Institute’s Olson wrote on Bluesky. “Trump is trying to usurp power not rightfully his. That’s the key point and that’s where to focus.”

Trump is trying to push the unitary executive theory to the extreme. And even if he loses in court, the order could have dangerous ramifications. It could embolden states to enact similar policies. And Trump could use any loss in court as a pretext to make more bogus claims of voter fraud and attempt to overturn future elections.

“What I’m most concerned about is that the president and this administration are trying to rewrite election law unilaterally and completely alter the way that elections are run in order to stop American voters from participating in elections,” Sweren-Becker says.