In a move certain to raise alarms with federal elections officials, two Republican state senators from Oklahoma have proposed a state law that would allow residents to buy specialty license plates reading “Make America Great Again” and “Keep America Great.”
State Sens. Nathan Dahm and Marty Quinn want the plates to benefit veteran groups Warriors for Freedom Foundation and the Folds of Honor Foundation, but experts warned that they might violate Federal Election Commission rules.
“These are political slogans,” Richard Briffault, a professor at Columbia Law School, told The Washington Post. “This has the look and feel of using state resources to support a political candidate, which seems improper . . . and possibly illegal.”
The Senate Bill 1384 would allow Trump, or an entity designated by him, a say in the plate designs. Meanwhile, Dahm posted a mockup of the proposed plates featuring the silhouette of a saluting uniformed officer.
The bill also authorizes the Oklahoma Tax Commission to issue the plates “to any person wishing to demonstrate support for the proclamation made by Donald J. Trump.”
An FEC spokesperson told The Washington Post that Dahm and Quinn did not submit a request for an advisory opinion to ensure that the bill followed agency regulations and federal law.
The bills would need to be signed by the governor before they could take effect on Nov. 1 — just before the 2020 presidential election.
Dahm and Quinn also recently proposed a bill that would rename a section of Route 66 the “President Donald Trump Highway,” The Washington Post reported.
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