JUANA SUMMERS, HOST:
The Constitution is clear. In the U.S., states run elections, but yesterday President Trump made waves when he said Republicans should nationalize how the country votes. Joining us now to talk about what that means and how it could affect the midterms is NPR voting correspondent Miles Parks. Hi.
MILES PARKS, BYLINE: Hey, Juana.
SUMMERS: Miles, let's start there. What exactly did the president say?
PARKS: I mean, he was pretty clear. This was on a podcast appearance with Dan Bongino, the conservative host who is also recently deputy FBI director. And Trump started this moment by repeating a claim he has made a lot in recent years, this idea that noncitizens are voting in big numbers and stealing elections for Democrats. Here's the full clip.
(SOUNDBITE OF PODCAST, "THE DAN BONGINO SHOW")
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: These people were brought to our country to vote, and they vote illegally. And, you know, amazing that the Republicans aren't tougher on it. The Republicans should say we want to take over. We should take over the voting in at least many - 15 places. The Republicans ought to nationalize the voting.
PARKS: Now, today the White House claimed Trump was only referencing support for Republican legislation that would require more documentation for people to register to vote. But it seems notable that this comes less than a week after the FBI raided the elections office in Fulton County, Georgia, looking for material specifically related to Trump's loss in 2020.
SUMMERS: Right. And Miles, I know we ask this question a lot when it comes to things that President Trump says, but nationalizing voting, is that something he can actually do?
PARKS: It is not. The short answer is that Article 1, Section 4 of the Constitution is clear. States run their own elections with oversight from Congress, as well. The president has no role. Theoretically, though, Congress could step in to do whatever President Trump is imagining here, but obviously, that's a no-go from Democrats on the Hill. And at this point, no election legislation, including the most recent draft of this Republican voting overhaul that I referenced earlier, has broad enough support to overcome the filibuster in the Senate. Also, for years, the Republicans' perspective on this has actually been that states should run elections with as minimal a role from the federal government as possible. So honestly, it's a little striking to hear this sentiment from a Republican president.
SUMMERS: I understand that he legally cannot take elections over, but does this tell us anything about Trump's willingness to interfere in the midterm elections?
PARKS: Absolutely. I think that's going to be the big takeaway, especially for local election officials. I was talking the other day with Michigan's secretary of state, Jocelyn Benson, who's a Democrat also running for governor there. She's been overseeing voting in the state since 2019, and she said her office is actively preparing for the possibility of some sort of federal interference in the midterms.
JOCELYN BENSON: We are always prepared for anything in Michigan, given what we - I mean, you know, armed protesters came to my home in 2020. False electors stood outside of our state Capitol building and demanded to be seated. So, yes, we know we continue to be locked in this ongoing battle over our democracy, over election administration.
PARKS: In addition to the raid in Fulton County, the Justice Department is suing roughly half the states in the country trying to access their voter rolls, but only at this point, suing states that Trump lost in 2020. This is not news at this point, but Trump is willing to use the federal government - the levers of the federal government to push forward his political aims.
SUMMERS: Before I let you go, I do want to ask, Miles, about that search warrant in Fulton County, Georgia. Have we learned anything more about what's happening there?
PARKS: So we still don't know the exact allegations that made a judge sign off on the warrant, but two more details have come to light. One is that the director of national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, was on scene there, and a big part of her job seems to be overseeing the federal government's new - fairly new investigation into the 2020 election. And two, President Trump spoke by phone to the agents carrying out the search warrant in Fulton County last week. Gabbard confirmed that in a letter to two Democrats in Congress this week, which is important because it just about shatters any illusion of there being a separation between the DOJ's actions and the president's desires at this point.
SUMMERS: NPR voting correspondent Miles Parks, thanks.
PARKS: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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