Sunday on CBS’s “Face the Nation,” Gov. Kathy Hochul (D-NY) said President Donald Trump had “compromised” the federal government when it comes to securing elections.
Partial transcript as follows:
MARGARET BRENNAN: I want to ask you about election security. We’re about 100 days out from election day. States administer the elections in this country, not the federal government. Are you getting the kind of election security resources your state has gotten in the last few years? Do you have what you need?
HOCHUL: No, the federal government has basically been dismantling all the protections that we’ve come to rely on to protect this core essence of our democracy. The knowledge that when you cast that vote, that- that citizens’ right, that obligation to determine who our leaders are, that it is uncompromised. It is not being challenged by the federal government, just because they’re so worried about the upcoming results, that is exactly what is happening. I want everyone to focus on that. Yes, we passed the John Rights Voting Act. We have the toughest protections in the country, and just recently, I signed a law, many, many protections against what ICE is doing, to say ICE agents cannot show up at polling places.
BRENNAN: Right.
HOCHUL: Can you see this scenario? Black and brown communities across our country and in New York, where they’re all of a sudden on election day to create that fear factor and intimidation factor that they’re so good at. I do not want to see that compromise the validity of our election. So, what Donald Trump is doing right now is throwing out the- the biggest red herring you’d ever see and questioning the- the actual results that are happening. So, we’re working hard on this here. I’ll make sure that we are protected, but I can’t count on–
BRENNAN: But–
HOCHUL: –the federal government for any- anything these days because they’re compromised.
BRENNAN: Under- under federal law, armed agents are not supposed to be at election centers. The attorney general nominee Todd Blanche said he’d follow the law, but it sounds like you are still concerned that that might happen. Have you–
HOCHUL: They don’t follow the law very much at all, Margaret. They don’t follow the law much at all. So again, trust but verify. I’m going to verify and ensure that New York State is doing it right. I don’t trust that they’re going to say this because what happens is, they say the day after, like, “Oh well, we didn’t mean to do it.” And, “Oh, sorry about that.” You know, these are people who go around killing individuals in our streets, so they have no credibility with me when they say anything.
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