We Must Defy Unconstitutional Executive Orders
Donald Trump says he wants to do away with voting machines and absentee ballots. As a former and hopefully future election worker, and as someone for whom democracy is a core value, I applaud our Secretary of State David Scanlan’s public defense of our voting processes, but I ask for one small but vital step further: New Hampshire must defy any executive order trying to dismantle our voting system. We should presume that any such order is illegal, as constitutional scholars say it is, and continue to follow our own proven procedures instead of even humoring attempts to change it. We have already seen Trump issue obviously unconstitutional orders on other topics, such as defying the budget passed by Congress, and the checks that are supposed to exist against illegal acts by the Executive Branch have rolled over and played dead. It is up to state governments to refuse to be accomplices to abuses of power, and New Hampshire has a vital part to play right now by defending our free and fair elections.
Paul Wiele
Hinsdale, NH