By Sam Stevenson | Washington, DC | February 6, 2026
Key takeaways
- Voting Rules: Trump demands mandatory voter ID, proof of U.S. citizenship, and a near-total ban on mail-in ballots, except for illness, disability, military service, or travel.
- Federal Oversight: He suggests nationalizing key election rules to standardize voting across states, aiming to prevent inconsistent or vulnerable practices.
- Political Impact: The plan intensifies Trump’s long-running campaign to question U.S. election integrity, sparking debate over state control vs. presidential influence.
President Donald Trump is seeking to redefine the rules of American voting, unveiling a trio of requirements he says are necessary to restore public confidence in U.S. elections.
In a new Truth Social post, Trump declared that America’s elections are “rigged, stolen, and a laughingstock,” and urged Republicans to unite behind what he calls the Save America Act—a plan that would dramatically tighten access to the ballot box.
Why It Matters
Trump’s proposals align with his broader push to shift election authority toward federal standards despite constitutional limits and recent court rulings curbing such efforts.
What To Know
In the Truth Social post, Trump listed three demands:
- Mandatory voter ID for every voter.
- Proof of U.S. citizenship to register.
- A near‑total prohibition on mail‑in ballots, limited only to cases of illness, disability, military service, or travel.
Taken together, the package would represent one of the most sweeping overhauls of federal election administration in modern history.
It also marks the latest escalation in Trump’s long-running campaign to cast doubt on U.S. election integrity—an effort that has shaped both Republican politics and congressional debates since his first term.
Trump’s demands come as he increasingly calls for greater federal authority over how states conduct their elections.
In a recent interview on The Dan Bongino Show, he floated the idea of nationalizing key election rules, arguing that standardized federal oversight would prevent what he sees as inconsistent or vulnerable state practices.
The proposal triggered immediate pushback from critics, who warned it would undercut state control and inject unprecedented presidential influence into the electoral system.
Trump previously signed an executive order directing federal agencies and the Election Assistance Commission to require documentary proof of citizenship for the federal voter registration form and to enforce election day ballot receipt deadlines— moves now facing multiple legal setbacks.
Federal judges blocked key parts of that order, including attempts to require proof of citizenship for the federal voter registration form and for military voters, citing constitutional separation of powers and the limits of presidential authority over election procedures.
In Congress, Republicans introduced the Make Elections Great Again Act to set national baselines for voter ID, citizenship verification, mail-ballot deadlines, paper ballots, and limits on ballot collection, while separately pushing the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act to mandate proof of citizenship to register.
What People Are Saying
Democratic Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said Monday: “Does Donald Trump need a copy of the Constitution? What he’s saying is outlandishly illegal.”
Republican Representative Don Bacon wrote on X: “I opposed nationalizing elections when Speaker Pelosi wanted major changes to elections in all 50 states. I’ll oppose this now as well. I work w/the NE Gov & Unicameral to ensure we have secure elections where every citizen’s vote counts. This is what the Constitution calls for.”
Lawyer Bradley P. Moss told Newsweek: “There is no legal basis for the President to nationalize elections. The Constitution specifically delegates that authority to the states. Congress can pass laws to modify how states administer elections, and they have done that several times in our history with things such as the Voting Rights Act and the NVRA, but the states still actually run the elections.”
What Happens Next
Trump and Republican allies are expected to continue pressing Congress to advance federal election bills like the SAVE Act and the MEGA Act. Democrats will likely oppose them, and constitutional challenges are set to proceed in federal courts.
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