Trump Allies Push Draft Order For Presidential Control of Elections
A coalition of pro-Trump attorneys and activists, who claim to be coordinating with the White House, is pushing for President Donald Trump to sign a sweeping emergency executive order that would grant him expansive powers over U.S. elections. According to multiple sources, the 17-page draft order uses unsubstantiated claims of Chinese interference in the 2020 election as a pretext to declare a national emergency. This declaration, the draft argues, would unlock presidential authority to potentially federalize election administration, a move that aligns with Trump's recent social media threats to unilaterally implement voter ID requirements and restrict mail-in voting for the midterms. Legal experts and voting rights organizations have immediately condemned the proposal as legally dubious and unconstitutional. Lawyers within the administration have reportedly warned that such an order would likely be struck down by the courts. Advocacy group Common Cause has preemptively announced it will challenge any such order, with its president stating, 'Presidents don’t set election law, not now, and not ever,' emphasizing that election authority is reserved for states and Congress. The effort, led by Florida-based attorney Peter Ticktin, represents a significant test of executive authority and follows a pattern of attempts to centralize control over voting rules. The draft order and the coordination behind it highlight ongoing tensions between the administration and established election norms, setting the stage for a major legal and political battle over the fundamental mechanics of American democracy ahead of the upcoming midterm elections.
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Sources
Pro-Trump attorneys push EO that would give Trump wide power over elections: Sources
A group of pro-Trump attorneys ... executive order that uses alleged Chinese interference in the 2020 election -- of which there is no evidence -- to justify a national emergency declaration that they claim would give President Donald Trump sweeping power over voting, multiple sources told ABC News...
White House 'circulating' 17-page executive order draft to declare emergency over voting - Alternet.org
David Badash February 26, 2026 | 12:33PM ET News & Politics · President Donald Trump, who has insisted on federalizing voting and who issued an executive order last March to pressure states to require proof of citizenship to register voters, is reportedly now being urged to declare an emergency ...
The president has directed his ... order, even as his own lawyers warn it would likely be stricken down — the latest test of his executive authority over American elections. “There will be Voter I.D. for the Midterm Elections, whether approved by Congress or not!” Trump wrote in a ...
Read the laughable legal memo behind the claim that Trump can declare a national voting emergency - Democracy Docket
Peter Ticktin, the Florida-based lawyer leading an effort to have President Donald Trump issue an executive order declaring a national emergency to enable a federal takeover of the upcoming midterm elections, shared his reasoning with Democracy Docket Thursday.
In response to the Washington Post’s ... executive order on elections, Common Cause and its more than 1 million members are preemptively announcing they will challenge any order that reduces voting rights. “Presidents don’t set election law, not now, and not ever,” said Virginia Kase Solomón, Common Cause President and CEO. “Americans nationwide reject President Trump’s attempt ...
President Donald Trump gestures after speaking to soldiers and their families at Fort Bragg, N.C., Friday, Feb. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke) The Washington Post reported that activists are working with the White House on an executive order to declare a “national emergency” over America’s ...
Anti-voting activists co-ordinating with White House on blatantly illegal draft emergency order to take control of elections - Democracy Docket
Trump could have been referencing the legal argument laid out in the draft emergency order in a social media post earlier this month, where he threatened to bypass Congress to implement voter ID requirements and to ban mail-in voting.
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