Washington:
Days before Donald Trump said he is “not joking” about aiming for a third term as US President, he used his presidential privilege of an executive order to introduce sweeping changes to America’s voting system. A move that has now forced opposition Democrats to sue him.
“It is simply not within the president’s authority to set election rules by executive decree,” a statement issued by advocacy group Campaign Legal Center stated after the lawsuit was filed in a US court.
Among the massive changes in the US electoral process ordered by President Trump, a few that have analysts concerned are requiring voters to register themselves by submitting documents proving their US citizenship, else not be eligible to vote; and limiting the counting of mail-in ballots that arrive after voting day.
The Democratic Party, upset over such changes – which may impact millions of voters, and potentially sway the election result – demanded that the federal court block the President’s executive order. “The President does not get to dictate the rules of our elections,” said the lawsuit filed in Washington by the Democratic National Committee, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, and others.
Describing the changes as “radical”, the Democratic Party’s lawsuit against Trump said, “The executive order seeks to impose radical changes on how Americans register to vote, cast a ballot, and participate in our democracy – all of which threaten to disenfranchise voters,”
“None of this is legal,” it claimed.
DONALD TRUMP’S STAND ON US ELECTION PROCESS
Donald Trump, who signed the presidential order titled ‘Preserving and Protecting the Integrity of American Elections’ on March 25, called it “the farthest-reaching executive action ever taken”. He had said he has done so to secure the US election from “widespread rigging”.
Till date, Donald Trump does not agree with or acknowledge his defeat in the 2020 US presidential election. He has repeatedly questioned the integrity of the US electoral system. He has been very vocal about “massive election fraud” in the United States, particularly involving “absentee voting”.
A faction of legal experts, who back the Democratic Party lawsuit against Trump, have denounced the presidential order as “an abuse” of his power. These changes, they say, will “prevent millions of voters from casting their ballot”.
“The president’s executive order is an unlawful action that threatens to uproot our tried-and-tested election systems,” a statement issued by them says.
Donald Trump insists those who are coming to vote must register with proper documentation proving their citizenship – like a passport, for example. President Trump gave India’s example and credited the world’s largest democracy for having something called a voter card and Aadhaar card, which ensures proper registration of voters.
TRUMP “NOT JOKING” ABOUT THIRD TERM
Though his current presidential order mentions nothing about proposing any changes to the number of terms a US President can have, Donald Trump has said he is actively considering a third term in office – which happened only once in US history, after which a two-term limit was introduced by way of a constitutional amendment.
The US Constitution limits the number of 4-year terms that a President can have to just two. These can be consecutive or non-consecutive, but cannot exceed two terms or 8 years. For Donald Trump to contest for a third term as President, his party will have to introduce a Constitutional amendment – which is difficult to achieve as it required sweeping support both in the US Congress as well as in a majority of the 50 states.
In a telephonic interview to NBC News, Donald Trump made his intentions clear. “No, I’m not joking. I’m not joking (about a third term as President).” However, he added that “it is far too early to think about it,” considering his second term in office has just completed two months.
On being asked how he plans to go ahead with it, President Trump simply said, “There are methods by which you could do it, as you well know,” declining to elaborate or give specifics of how or when he plans to do so.
To allow for a third term, Donald Trump and his party will have to change the 22nd Amendment of the US Constitution. But a proposal to overturn a constitutional amendment requires a two-thirds vote in both houses of Congress and ratification by the legislatures of three-fourths of the 50 US states.
Some Trump allies have floated the idea of keeping Trump in the White House beyond 2028. Donald Trump, who at 78 was the oldest US president at the time of his inauguration, would be 82 if he took on another four-year term following the November 2028 election.
US PRESIDENTIAL HISTORY
America’s first president, George Washington, had set a precedent in 1797 by stepping down after serving two terms in office, but the two-term presidential limit was only formally codified more than 150 years later.
Only one US President – Democrat Franklin D. Roosevelt – served more than two terms in the White House. President Roosevelt was elected four times – in 1932, 1936, 1940, and 1944. His fourth term ended prematurely with his death on April 12, 1945. He was 63 at the time of his death.
Other former US Presidents, notably Ulysses S. Grant and Theodore Roosevelt, had sought a third term in office, but failed to win the nomination or re-election.
The 22nd Amendment limiting a President to two terms in office was passed in 1947 – two years after Franklin D. Roosevelt’s death – by two-thirds of the House of Representatives and two-thirds of the Senate.
It was ratified by three-quarters of the 50 US state legislatures in 1951.
(Inputs from AFP and Reuters)
