President Donald Trump said Republicans should “take over the voting” from states on Monday as he repeated his disproven claims of voter fraud.
“The Republicans should say, ‘We want to take over. We should take over the voting in at least — many, 15 places. The Republicans ought to nationalize the voting,” Trump said during an appearance on former deputy FBI Director Dan Bongino’s podcast.
The statement marks a dramatic escalation of Trump’s stance on election administration, advancing a position that Democrats had previously warned he could stake out with his calls for stricter voting rules and investigations into alleged fraud.
Article 1 of the U.S. Constitution states that “the times, places, and manner of holding elections for senators and representatives, shall be prescribed in each state by the legislature thereof,” though Congress can pass federal regulations, too.
The U.S. Supreme Court has interpreted this to mean that states have control over voter registration, election supervision, prevention of fraud, counting of ballots and more.