Former DNC, RNC lawyers launch group to stop Trump effort to federalize elections

Bipartisan lawyers Bob Bauer and Ben Ginsberg, who have previously advised the Democratic and Republican national committees respectively, launched the Bipartisan American Election Project on Monday to oppose President Trump's push to federalize elections. The group formed in response to Trump's call last month to nationalize election procedures, a move that would shift control of voting from states to the federal government. The initiative reflects alarm from both parties' election law specialists about centralizing electoral authority, a power traditionally held by states under the Constitution. Bauer and Ginsberg previously co-chaired the 2013 Presidential Commission on Election Administration, lending them credibility across party lines on election administration issues. The organization aims to preserve the existing decentralized election system that has governed U.S. voting for decades.