Aug. 26 (UPI) -- President Donald Trump's wish to end mail-in voting is only part of his grander vision for fundamentally changing the election process, experts say.
Mail-in voting has been the target of the president for years and it is again garnering his attention. As president he does not have a direct role in election administration but by sowing mistrust in the results he is still capable of ushering in change.
"The president has no role with respect to election administration or setting election rules of anything of that nature," Jonathan Diaz, director of voting advocacy and partnerships with Campaign Legal Center, told UPI. "The Constitution is crystal clear that the primary responsibility for setting election rules lies with the states, subject to modifications from Congress."
Trump alleges that mail-in voting is rife with fraud, a claim that has routinely been disproven by election audits and federal investigations, Diaz said.
"His own Department of Justice during his first term said there was no evidence of any widespread voter fraud in the 2020 election," Diaz said. "Countless studies and investigations and attempts have turned up virtually nothing. Isolated incidents that haven't affected the outcome of elections at most. There is no basis to support any of the president's views on vote-by-mail or the integrity of our election system in general."
