President Trump says that he is going to end mail-in voting by executive order. And, while he’s at it, he says, he will also end “Highly ‘Inaccurate,’ Very Expensive, and Seriously Controversial VOTING MACHINES, which cost Ten Times more than accurate and sophisticated Watermark Paper, which is faster, and leaves NO DOUBT, at the end of the evening, as to who WON, and who LOST, the Election.” The White House clarified that this will not apply to overseas and out-of-state military ballots. He predicts Democrats will oppose the move — which they surely will — but insists that states must follow whatever the federal government mandates. That, of course, is something the courts will have to decide. The Constitution is not on his side on that one. The Constitution assigns states the authority to determine the “times, places, and manner” of elections, subject only to congressional legislation, not to executive orders or administrative fiat. Trump is correct that voter fraud has always been a concern, and the federal government does have the power to litigate when a state fails to secure elections. But it cannot simply impose a nationwide protocol by decree. What happens next? If Trump does sign such an executive order, it would almost certainly face an immediate legal challenge. Federal courts have repeatedly struck down similar efforts, and judges tend to issue injunctions quickly in election cases to avoid chaos. Unless Congress were to pass a law backing him up — which is highly unlikely — Trump’s order would be tied up in litigation long before it could change how anyone votes. The post Trump Says He’ll Ban Mail-In Voting — Constitution Says Otherwise appeared first on Redacted.