White House

The convoluted plan rests on a dubious legal theory: that a little-used Commerce Department regulation on “Securing the Information and Communications Technology and Services Supply Chain” that mostly covers Wi-Fi routers and antivirus apps actually authorizes Lutnick to order sweeping changes to voting machine systems and mandate hand counts of ballots across the country.

The problem? No federal official can seize control of election administration from the states and counties, who hold the power run elections under the U.S. Constitution.   

The series of resignations serves as a stark reminder of how Trump has directed enormous federal resources to proving 2020 election conspiracies — and has come up empty.

Advocates agree such an attempt would be blatantly unconstitutional but still worry that such an emergency order could suppress voting nonetheless.

A senior Department of Justice (DOJ) official warned federal prosecutors that they could be fired if they refused to pursue voter fraud cases brought to them by the FBI or Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

It’s the latest ominous sign that the U.S. is backsliding on democracy — and adds to concerns that the administration wants to undermine the vote.