In A State

“Pro-Trump activists who say they are in coordination with the White House are circulating a 17-page draft executive order that claims China interfered in the 2020 election as a basis to declare a national emergency that would unlock extraordinary presidential power over voting.” WaPo: Trump, seeking executive power over elections, is urged to declare emergency. Trump has already shown he’ll go to great lengths to remain in power. And the current polling trends couldn’t be much worse. So you can expect emergency declarations and actual emergencies.

+ This doesn’t mean Trump’s efforts will work, of course. He doesn’t control elections, states do. And a state of emergency doesn’t equal an emergency in a state. But there is some value in expecting the worst, especially when the past has shown you it’s coming. Josh Marshall: Time for the States to Gear Up for Trump’s Fake Elections Exec Order. “The issue is not simply President Trump’s never-ending efforts to destroy the Republic, violate the Constitution, etc. Again, the Constitution is crystal clear about who runs and controls elections. States do that with guidelines set by Congress. Period. The issue is whether we — everyone, the opposition, everyone who purportedly needs to be in perpetual orbit around Donald Trump’s degenerate brain — need to always be allowing him the initiative.”