Emily Kwong (2:03)

Consider this. The president has repeatedly questioned the integrity of election systems despite no evidence of widespread voter fraud. Now he is calling to nationalize voting. Why do state governments run elections? And what happens if that power is under threat? From npr, I'm Emily Kwong.

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Emily Kwong (3:44)

It's consider this from npr. Wendy Weiser is the Vice President for Democracy at the Brennan center for justice at NYU Law School, a think tank and voting rights advocacy group. And I asked her what it would mean to nationalize the vote.

Wendy Weiser (3:57)

One thing that's really important for people to know is that actually the president has no role in running elections in our country. In our country, elections are run by the states and 10,000 local jurisdictions across the country. And the Constitution makes it clear that it is states that regulate federal elections. Congress can pass laws overriding that, but the president has no role.

Emily Kwong (4:24)

So the midterms, they're basically around the corner. We what are local officials doing to protect state run elections?

Wendy Weiser (4:31)

Election officials are doing what they always do, which is preparing furiously to ensure free and fair elections and planning for every possible disruption that might come their way. The Trump administration has been trying to gather up all of the sensitive voter information from the voter rolls across the country. The law requires states to maintain and secure that these are these. And most states and most state officials, Republican and Democratic, have refused to turn over that sensitive voter information.

Emily Kwong (5:09)

Isn't it also protected by US Privacy laws, that data?

Wendy Weiser (5:12)

It is protected by state privacy laws. And so most states have said, no, you cannot have that information. You can have. There's certain amounts of voter file information that can be made publicly available and available for inspection. The administration has actually sued now more than 20 states and D.C. to try to get that. And the courts have actually been backing up the states. They have said the administration doesn't have access to the sensitive voter data. They have no legal authorization.

Emily Kwong (5:42)

Going back to Steve Bannon's comments on his podcast when he says we're going to have ICE agents surround the polls. What do we need to understand about a comment like that?

Wendy Weiser (5:53)

This is a threat. It is prohibited for there to be any troops or any armed federal agents of any sort anywhere near where voting or elections are being conducted. There is very clear federal law, both civil and criminal law, that prohibit intimidation.

Emily Kwong (6:13)

Of voters and Yet I think the deployment of the National Guard in various cities has made people question like maybe agents can appear at will at the wish of the president and his administration.

Wendy Weiser (6:25)

That's certainly a valid concern. I am confident that courts will move quickly if that happens to try to prohibit it. But I do think election officials, voters, communities are planning just in case, in case the administration does not follow the law to make sure that voters and all voters feel safe in their communities and in participating. And voters can also plan ahead, think about voting early or voting by mail if they're worried in their communities. But this would be clearly unlawful and inappropriate.

Emily Kwong (7:06)

Republican lawmakers are working to advance their own voting law, the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility act or SAVE act, which would require voters to show passports or birth certificates in order to vote. If this act passes, first of all, do you think it could pass? And second of all, how would it affect voting?

Wendy Weiser (7:27)

The SAVE act is a vote suppression bill. It would block millions of American citizens from voting. It requires you to show a passport or birth certificate, as you said, in order to register to vote. And 21 million eligible American citizens don't have ready access to those documents. Roughly half of Americans don't even have a passport. Many of us don't even know where our birth certificate is. The SAVE act would really upend elections and block millions of Americans. It is a real risk. I think there's going to be likely a vote on the House floor this week or next and Americans should pay attention. This is their representative. So this is an opportunity to make their voices heard.

Emily Kwong (8:16)

What is the cumulative effect of the administration's questioning of election security, particularly in this midterm year?

Wendy Weiser (8:23)

This is shaking voters confidence in the system. It's actually creating fear among election administrators nationwide who are working really hard, but they are now under a lot of direct threats from the federal government. But I do want to reinforce that our elections are still strong. We still have, they are still administered. We have a backbone of election workers across the country who know their jobs. We have election, state and federal election laws that are on the voters side here. And we have many, many people and entities who are working very hard to secure the elections and to ensure that the election is very free and fair.

Emily Kwong (9:10)

That's Wendy Weiser of the Brennan center for Justice. Thank you so much for talking to us.

Wendy Weiser (9:15)

Thank you for having me.

Emily Kwong (9:16)

This episode was produced by Henry Larson and Kai McNamee with audio engineering by Damien Herring. It was edited by Sarah Robbins and Ahmad Daman. Our executive producer is Sammy Yenigan. Foreign. It's consider this from npr. I'm Emily Kwong. There is a long history of misinformation about autism, from accusations about bad parenting to RFK Jr. S false allegations that Tylenol has something to do with it. But science is getting closer to truly understanding what drives autism. It looks like there are hundreds of.

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Genes that are involved.

Emily Kwong (10:04)

To find out what the research actually says about autism and what we still don't know, listen to Short Wave in the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts.

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