This week, President Donald Trump told his supporters that “the states are just an agent of the federal government” — demonstrating, at best, a clear misunderstanding of the U.S. Constitution and the states’ rights to oversee elections.

When I was sworn into office in the state of Nevada, I took an oath to support, protect and defend the Constitution. I promised to protect our citizens’ freedoms, including the right to vote, because that’s my role and responsibility to the people of Nevada. As the chief elections officer, I work alongside election workers across the state year-round to ensure that, when elections take place, every eligible voter has access to a ballot, that their vote is accurately recorded and that it is counted only once. From rural to urban counties, we serve on the front lines of our election system — a decentralized, nonpartisan system that has served our country for centuries.

Nevada, alongside 18 other states, filed a federal lawsuit asking the courts to permanently void the president’s illegal order.

Trump also took an oath to uphold the Constitution. But just two months later, he issued an unlawful executive order that tramples on the constitutional authority of Congress and the states to oversee elections.

This order is an attack on the integrity of our election system, which protects the democratic process by which voters choose their leaders and hold them accountable. The order claims to advance “election integrity,” but it is best described as election interference. It violates our democracy’s separation of powers. It is, to put it bluntly, an illegal power grab that would have disastrous consequences for America’s voters.

The Constitution tasks states with administering and defending elections. And they will not permit this unlawful overreach. That’s why, last week, Nevada, alongside 18 other states, filed a federal lawsuit asking the courts to permanently void the president’s illegal order.

None of the president’s powers allow him to change the rules of elections. That is an intentional feature of our Constitution, which the Framers built in to ensure election integrity. Despite that, Trump is seeking to upend the voter registration process; impose arbitrary deadlines on vote counting; allow an unelected and unaccountable billionaire to invade state voter rolls; and withhold congressionally approved funding for election security.

State and local officials go to great lengths in order to ensure voting is secure, accessible and transparent. Research shows that voters feel remarkably confident about the integrity and accuracy of our state-run elections. Just six months ago, voters in every state cast ballots in their local communities, most saying it went smoothly. If federal policies were to change, voters say they would want them approved by Congress.

The order seeks to unleash Elon Musk’s DOGE on secure state systems which protect voters’ information. It would force last-minute changes to voter registration forms, which Congress has not approved. Trump also threatens to withhold already-approved election integrity funds and to target states with Justice Department investigations if states fail to comply.

In Nevada, the order’s requirements directly contradict state law and voter protections. It would, for example, require states to reject mail-in ballots received after Election Day. While 99% of ballots are on-hand at local election offices by election night, only 1% of ballots are received after Election Day. In a battleground state like Nevada, every eligible vote counts and can have an impact for the whole country — we need to protect the voices of our voters. Our laws allow for the counting of that 1% of ballots so long as they are mailed by Election Day — a measure that’s meant to ensure that voters have every legal opportunity to make their voices heard.

The order seeks to unleash Elon Musk’s DOGE on secure state systems which protect voters’ information.

At the same time as he promotes this unlawful order, the president is also pushing unhinged and unconstitutional notions of seeking a third term — something our election system does not allow. His administration is also abandoning election integrity efforts that are well within the president’s power to support. They have slashed millions in election security funds and laid off staff at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, a vital enforcer of election security. Through CISA, state officials share information about threats to voting, including risks of foreign intervention.

President Trump’s executive order on elections seeks to undo our proven safeguards and interfere with state-run voter registration systems and election administration procedures. But the president has no authority to force Congress and the states to do his bidding. That’s a good thing because his bidding, as outlined in the order, would do real harm.

This order would create widespread confusion and fundamentally undermine the rights and freedoms of eligible U.S. voters — just in time for next year’s midterms.

I chose to work in public service because I love our state and country, and I believe fiercely in the rule of law. In defense of the rule of law and the voters of Nevada, we will not hand over the keys to our election system — the very process by which voters hold their elected officials accountable — based on an unlawful order.

Cisco Aguilar

Francisco “Cisco” Aguilar was elected as Nevada secretary of state in 2022. He also serves as the chair for the Democratic Association of Secretaries of State (DASS). Secretary Aguilar is the founding chairman of Cristo Rey St. Viator College Preparatory High School, serving students in one of Las Vegas’ most vulnerable neighborhoods.