1. United States
2. Wash.
3. Letter

I am writing to urge you to publicly oppose and take legislative action against any federal executive order that would allow the president to unilaterally control state election systems. A 17-page draft order titled "Establishing Security, Integrity, and Transparency for United States Elections with Protections Against Foreign Interference" is currently circulating among anti-voting activists who claim to be coordinating with the White House. This order represents an unprecedented and unconstitutional federal overreach into state sovereignty. The draft order, dated April 12, 2025, would grant the president authority to ban mail-in ballots and voting machines nationwide based on unsubstantiated claims of foreign interference. Legal experts have explicitly stated that such an order is blatantly unconstitutional. The Constitution grants states the primary authority to conduct elections, and this fundamental principle of federalism must be defended regardless of which party holds the White House. Peter Ticktin, a Trump ally who is also the attorney for Tina Peters, the former Colorado county clerk serving nine years in prison for a 2021 voting system breach, is leading this effort. The involvement of individuals connected to election crimes should raise serious concerns about the true motivations behind this proposal. Additionally, Democratic lawmakers are investigating whether anti-voting groups have signed voter data agreements with the Department of Government Efficiency to share private voter data. This raises alarming questions about how citizen information might be misused. I urge you to publicly condemn any attempt to federalize election administration through executive order and to introduce or support legislation that explicitly protects state authority over elections. Our constitutional system depends on the separation of powers and state sovereignty. Please stand against this dangerous precedent that would concentrate election control in the hands of one person.