Trump administration puts pressure on states to revise election practices
FILE-Voting booths and voters are seen at a polling location at Beltsville Academy on Election Day, Tuesday, November 5, 2024, in Beltsville, Maryland. (Photo by Graeme Sloan for The Washington Post via Getty Images)
The Trump administration is threatening to restrict some federal money from states that don't modify their voting practices.
According to The Associated Press, letters to states and grant application details are the latest in various actions by the administration to alter details of running elections that are the responsibility of states.
RELATED: Trump says he will require voter ID with executive order
In June, the Trump administration threatened to slash antiterrorism funding for states if they didn’t comply with a list of election requirements.
The AP reported that those requirements include verifying the citizenship of all registered voters and election workers.
Department of Justice warns election officials of prosecution
Dig deeper:
The Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division stated in letters sent to election officials for all 50 states and the District of Columbia, that they and other election administrators may face criminal charges if they knowingly allow noncitizens to vote or remain on voting rolls, The Associated Press reported.
RELATED: DOJ warns states of possible prosecution over noncitizen voting
DOJ officials also called on states to tell the federal government within five days how they plan to comply with the law.
Referencing the letter, the AP noted that the letter also states that anyone who knowingly and willfully gives false information while registering to vote or voting would face criminal prosecution.
Antiterrorism grants involve election requirements
Big picture view:
In June, a Federal Emergency Management Agency antiterrorism grant announcement included a list of election-related requirements, stating that 20% of grants for states and urban areas would be cut until states comply.
According to The Associated Press, the program includes over $1 billion for states and local governments for various programs created to prevent terror in crowded places, online, with border security — and around elections.
Moreover, the list of requirements for states includes verifying the citizenship of all registered voters and election workers.
Places that utilize electronic voting systems that use bar codes or QR codes to count votes would have to furnish plans to transition to hand-marked paper ballots. And each location would be required to display its audit results.
The Trump administration has pushed policies and actions aimed at how elections are run. Courts have rejected the Department of Justice’s attempts to collect the names and contact information for election workers in Georgia in the 2020 election and others trying to force New Hampshire and Pennsylvania to relinquish information about registered voters.
Recently, a group of Democratic governors asked the U.S. Postal Service to withdraw its proposed rule to institute an order from President Donald Trump to create a list of eligible voters — and possibly restricting who may get a ballot in the mail.
The Associated Press reported that that Supreme Court ruled that states can count mailed ballots that arrive after Election Day.
The Source: Information for this story was provided by The Associated Press. This story was reported from Washington, D.C.