After a reporter from the Daily Caller asked the secretary if he could “ensure that the midterm elections will be secure,” Mullin stressed the need to “build confidence in the American people,” but stressed that “the states have to do their part.”

Then he vowed to hold state election officials who don’t “participate in the SAVE program” accountable “by fines, by penalties, and even, depending on how far it goes, prison time.”

The SAVE America Act, which would require voters to prove their citizenship when registering to vote and show a photo ID at the polls, does not seem likely to pass the Senate despite Trump’s urging.

Mullin probably thought he sounded tough and principled when he made the threat, but many people pointed out the Constitution mandates states, not the federal government, handle elections.