1. United States
2. Ohio
3. Letter

I urge you to oppose any effort to federalize election administration, including the SAVE Act, which would undermine the constitutional authority of states to run their own elections. The Constitution forbids the federal government from taking over elections. That power is reserved for the states. When the Biden administration proposed national election reforms, Ohio Attorney General Frank LaRose rejected them, stating that the federal government has no role in elections. This principle of state sovereignty over election administration must be defended regardless of which party controls Washington. On February 3rd, President Trump stated that if states cannot run elections to his satisfaction, the federal government should take over, calling states "agents of the federal government" in elections. He specifically targeted Detroit, Philadelphia, and Atlanta while repeating unfounded claims about the 2020 election. This represents a fundamental misunderstanding of constitutional federalism that has served our democracy for over two centuries. The SAVE Act, which the administration now claims was the focus of these remarks, would require states to obtain proof of citizenship before registering voters for federal elections. This is a solution in search of a problem. Noncitizens are already prohibited from voting in federal and state elections, and voter roll audits leading up to the 2024 election uncovered very few instances of noncitizen voting. Experts confirm that such instances are incredibly rare. What concerns me most is the broader pattern. The Trump administration is pushing mid-decade redistricting to gain House seats and demanding that at least 24 states turn over voter data. These actions, combined with rhetoric about federal takeover of elections, represent a dangerous consolidation of power that threatens the checks and balances essential to our republic. I ask that you publicly oppose any legislation or executive action that would transfer election administration from states to the federal government. Please vote against the SAVE Act and any similar measures that would impose unnecessary federal mandates on state election systems. Our democracy depends on maintaining the constitutional separation of powers between state and federal authority.