Federal Election Commission (FEC) Commissioner Ellen Weintraub flatly stated on Thursday that the executive branch does not have the power to delay a presidential election after President Trump
Donald John TrumpBiden has spoken with some GOP senators, chief of staff says Trump told advisers he could announce 2024 bid shortly after certification of Biden win: report Ivy League cancels winter sports amid US COVID-19 pandemic surge MORE stirred an uproar by raising the idea in an early morning tweet.
“No, Mr. President. No,” Weintraub said in a statement shared on Twitter. "You don't have the power to move the election. Nor should it be moved."
"States and localities are asking you and Congress for funds so they can properly run the safe and secure elections all Americans want," she added. "Why don't you work on that?"
No, Mr. President. No. You don't have the power to move the election. Nor should it be moved. States and localities are asking you and Congress for funds so they can properly run the safe and secure elections all Americans want. Why don't you work on that?
— Ellen L Weintraub (@EllenLWeintraub) also pointed to Article II of the Constitution, which says that "Congress may determine the Time of choosing the Electors, and the Day on which they shall give their Votes; which Day shall be the same throughout the United States.”Trump's tweet comes as he ramps up his attacks on mail-in voting, despite a lack of evidence that it leads to widespread voter fraud. Trump has repeatedly claimed that the moves to expand voting opportunities in some states put Republicans at a disadvantage.
Weintraub, who formerly served as the FEC chairwoman, rebutted many of the president's claims in an expansive, 60-plus tweet thread in late May focused on how mail-in voting is conducted throughout the nation.
"There's simply no basis for the conspiracy theory that voting by mail causes fraud. None," Weintraub said at the time, citing several reports on the practice.
"The *real* fraud would be if U.S. citizens were deterred from voting and our government reflected the consent of fewer of the governed," she added. "True leaders speak truth. Especially in an election season plagued by pandemic, economic uncertainty, and death, the American people deserve nothing less than the truth from our leaders."
Five states — Colorado, Hawaii, Oregon, Utah and Washington — currently hold elections almost entirely by mail. Meanwhile, 33 states and the District of Columbia give voters the option. Other states allow voting by mail only in certain circumstances, though the coronavirus outbreak has prompted further discussion about relaxing some of those restrictions.