Trump Won’t Rule Out “National Emergency” To Federalize Mid-Terms
NEWS & RESEARCH
With the SAVE Act languishing in the Senate and courts blocking his efforts to mandate that states turn over their voter rolls in advance of the mid-term elections, President Trump refused on August 11, 2026 to rule out declaring a “national emergency” to federalize the mid-term elections. When prompted whether he might declare a national emergency by a host on Real America’s Voice, Trump replied that "[st]ranger things have happened." On August 11, 2026, a federal judge blocked enforcement of a Trump executive order directing the postal service to only deliver mail-in ballots to states that provided the administration a list of its registered voters. The preliminary injunction, in a suit by the League of Women Voters, applies nationally. Previously, Judge Indira Talwani had ruled that the executive order could not be enforced in states led by Democrats, which had successfully sued as well. The DOJ has sought emergency relief to overturn the attorneys generals’ victory in the US Supreme Court. Judge Talwani’s ruling complements the decisions of 21 out 21 courts that have rejected Trump administration demands that states turn over their voter rolls.
ANALYSIS & OPINION
Judge Talwani wrote that the Trump administration had failed to explain why blocking the executive order (EO) would harm the government. Rather, the administration maintained that federal agencies must be allowed to take more steps toward realizing the EO before courts could rule on its legality. The judge concluded that reviewing the EO now was proper given there are fewer than 90 days before the midterm elections and millions of Americans who “rely on mail voting require clarity as to how or whether they will vote in November.” Even short of declaring a national emergency, the Trump administration is pursuing a coordinated, 15-tactic strategy to subvert the 2026 midterm elections and entrench executive power beyond constitutional limits, according to authors Michael Sozan and Ben Olinsky. They argue the administration is using executive orders, law enforcement intimidation, legislative pressure, voter roll purges, and disinformation—rooted in claims of voter fraud—to manipulate voting rules, restrict voter access, and assert unprecedented federal control over state-run elections.
SOURCES: Democracy Docket | Center for American Progress |
HOW TO FIX IT
Federal action:
Block passage in the Senate of the SAVE Act, which would, among other things, require every American to provide burdensome documentation to register to vote in federal elections or change their voter registration, even though strict laws and safeguards already exist to ensure voters verify their eligibility. It is estimate that more than 21 million Americans don’t have access to the kind of documents this bill demands, which means nearly 10% of all voting-age Americans would face significant new barriers to the ballot.
State action:
Defend state election administrators against federal pressure in independently running their voting systems.
Litigation:
Citizens groups and state attorney general should continue to sue to protect the integrity of state control over voting. Article 1 of the Constitution grants exclusive authority over election administration to Congress and the states.
