Vermont’s Republican Governor Phil Scott on Friday pushed back against President Donald Trump’s calls to “nationalize” US elections, defending mail-in voting and state-run election administration during a bipartisan appearance at the National Governors Association meeting in Oklahoma City.
Asked how he responds to Trump’s call for voting to be nationalized, Scott said he goes back to the 10th Amendment, which he said is “clear on the role of the states in terms of elections. So I think that we should follow that and we’re closer to the people.”
“In Vermont, I would have to say, mail-in ballots are popular. Who are they popular with? Republicans,” Scott told “Meet the Press” moderator Kristen Welker during a conversation with North Carolina Democratic Governor Josh Stein. The governor said mail-in voting has increased voter participation among Republicans in his state, boosting GOP representation in the state legislature.
“We’re closer to our people and we know what’s right and what’s wrong, and we can control the elections,” Scott added. “I would hope that all, if not the majority, of Democrats would agree that this is ours, not the federal government’s.”
Scott’s remarks come as Trump has continued his yearslong opposition to mail-in voting, falsely claiming it is rife with fraud. The president has pushed the SAVE America Act, a stalled federal bill that would impose new citizenship documentation requirements for voter registration and ballots, and has said Republicans should aim to “nationalize the voting.” Trump himself voted by mail in a Florida special election earlier this year.
White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson responded that Trump “is committed to ensuring that Americans have full confidence in the administration of elections” and will keep urging Congress to pass the SAVE America Act. In federal courts, the administration is defending an executive order creating federal voter lists and restricting mail ballots; a federal judge blocked it last month as unconstitutional, and the administration has appealed to the Supreme Court, asking to impose the order as soon as August so it is in effect for the midterm elections.
Stein said Trump’s disparagement of the election system “is immensely damaging to the health of our democracy.” The two governors also discussed a lawsuit by Vermont and North Carolina against the administration’s decision to condition emergency preparedness funds on compliance with election administration reforms. “The notion that you would condition that on a state agreeing to something is offensive,” Stein said.
The exchange highlights a growing rift over election control ahead of November’s midterms, with a Republican governor publicly rejecting the president’s voting agenda while the administration presses its legal fight to reshape how Americans cast ballots.
Author: USA Desk
discussion