Trump has no constitutional authority over federal election administration. Rather, state and local officials are charged with administering elections, serving voters, and counting ballots to determine who the people chose to represent them. The U.S. Constitution gives both states and Congress responsibility for regulating federal elections. Known as the Elections Clause, Article I, Section 4 of the Constitution empowers states to determine the “Times, Places and Manner” of holding federal elections, while Congress has the power to “make or alter” such rules. Congress has exercised its constitutional authority to pass laws that impact elections in all states, from creating a nationwide Election Day to setting minimum standards for the electronic systems that count votes and baseline rules for voter list maintenance. But beyond limited examples like these, election administration falls primarily to states and localities
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