Trump Attempts to Federalize Elections; States Resist

(SeaPRwire) –   When President Donald Trump stated Republicans should “nationalize” or “take over” the 2026 midterm elections, this was not just a casual offhand comment. It was an unconstitutional warning sign, and part of a 10-year pattern where Trump has weakened public confidence in U.S. elections.

The executive order released Tuesday targeting mail voting is just the latest example. The order seeks to dictate how local officials manage elections in their own communities, and would fundamentally change the national voting process, potentially stripping millions of voters of their right to vote. It directs the Department of Homeland Security to create a claimed “State Citizenship List.” It also bans the U.S. Postal Service from delivering ballots to any voter not included on the federal list, and even encourages the Department of Justice to investigate and charge local election officials who refuse to follow the White House’s lead.

Every single part of this order tries to take power away from states and hand it over to one single person. That is never how American elections have worked, and that is not how they should work now.

Let’s be perfectly clear: states run elections. No exceptions. Our voting system is intentionally set up to be decentralized, which is a core part of America’s tradition of checks and balances. This structure ensures elections are managed by state and local officials who understand what works best for their own communities.

The president has no constitutional authority over state-run elections, yet President Trump has not held back from pushing the boundaries of his power.  

With 2026 primaries already ongoing, and the president pushing his legislative power grab—the SAVE America Act—alongside a broad executive order to nationalize U.S. elections, the threat to free, fair, and secure elections across the country is playing out right now.

Since Trump returned to office, his administration has attempted to militarize U.S. communities, intimidate political rivals, and punish peaceful protestors and the free press. The harsh actions we have seen from federal agents in Minnesota and across the country have frightened Americans and were meant to consolidate federal power. However, these actions also signal weakness from a president whose tactics are growing increasingly desperate. Trump and his policies are deeply unpopular with the public.

Against this background, Trump has grown more bold in his attempts to claim executive power over states. He has spread lies about elections since his first 2016 presidential campaign, and his reasoning is easy to see. By eroding trust in our elections, Trump makes it simpler to cast doubt on any results he does not favor.

Last year, the White House tried to overhaul our election system through another unconstitutional executive order. Multiple states sued to stop it, and courts ruled in their favor. Trump does not have the legal right to change the voting process on his own.

At the same time, Trump’s Justice Department has been pushing to gain access to individual voter data—first through formal letters, then through a wave of lawsuits. These efforts are completely unprecedented; no prior Republican or Democratic president has ever taken such sweeping action. Trump’s Justice Department has demanded that election officials break state laws to hand over private sensitive data with no clear justification. To date, court rulings in these cases have sided with states, clearly confirming their authority to run their own elections.  

When Attorney General Pam Bondi sent Minnesota Governor Tim Walz a letter demanding voter data just hours after federal agents fatally shot Alex Pretti, she attempted to use ICE operations as a tool of coercion. The FBI’s seizure of Fulton County’s 2020 ballots and subpoena for Maricopa County’s election records, which were based on debunked conspiracy theories, was another escalation. By continuing to push false claims about the 2020 election, Trump could destabilize the 2026 election. 

The good news is that state and local officials are standing firm against federal overreach. From Democrat Jocelyn Benson in Michigan to Republican Brad Raffensperger in Georgia, secretaries of state from both major parties have refused to follow Trump’s demands. Even state legislatures in deep-red states have refused to enact Trump’s agenda: for example, Indiana blocked mid-decade redistricting, and Texas failed to pass a restrictive proof-of-citizenship voter requirement. Idaho recently denied the DOJ access to its voter rolls, reaffirming states’ right to govern their own elections. Meanwhile, federal and state courts have consistently stood up for the Constitution and the rule of law. 

Our system of checks and balances is working as intended.  

Americans do not accept what Trump is pushing. They want to move on from Trump’s 2020 election loss and his election denial. They do not want the Trump administration to have more control over our elections. They trust local election officials to run elections well, and care more about counting every vote than they care about their preferred candidate winning. Americans can and should vote with confidence. When people trust election systems, they are more likely to show up to vote. 

As the midterms approach, voters should turn to state and county election officials for reliable, accurate information on how they are keeping elections safe and secure. These officials work year-round in our communities to prepare for elections, handling everything from routine maintenance to training election workers and testing voting machines. They will be ready to protect our elections from federal interference and uphold the right of every eligible voter to be heard.  

The Trump administration is trying to “take over” elections, but that does not mean they will succeed. It is up to the states to stop them.