Donald John Trump, the 45th and 47th President of the United States has, in the last year or so of his second term, repeatedly called for the nationalization of the election process. Which could grant him complete power over voting. His actions both consist of executive orders, and direct calls for the G.O.P. (Grand Old Party) to “Take it over.” This paper will cover the constitutionality of a nationalized election, and why Trump wants one going into the midterms and future elections.
A Nationalized Election
Article one, section four of the Constitution of the United States is key to understanding this topic. It reads as, “The Times, Places and Manner of holding Elections for Senators and Representatives, shall be prescribed in each State by the Legislature thereof;…” Now, this means a multitude of things, but simply put, the states dictate their own elections. Including when, where, and how they are held.
State legislatures differ on how they handle their ballots. The NCSL (National Conference of State Legislatures) has a helpful site that describes the regulations most states have set for themselves. California has “Equitably distributed across the county so as to afford maximally convenient options for voters and at accessible locations near to public transportation routes.” Arizona follows, “The county board of supervisors and the county recorder establish voting centers at county offices or other locations in the county deemed appropriate.” And in Illinois, “Election officials must establish at least one vote center at the office of the election authority or in the largest municipality in its jurisdiction.”
All of this goes to show that states have the constitutional right to actively exercise their power. All states follow their own rules and regulations to ensure a safe and accurate vote. This gives us a very decentralized and reliable democratic system where no one man can manipulate the elections.
Is this possible to change?
I asked Daniel Fink, the current A.P. Government teacher at PJ Jacobs Junior High School a few questions about the issue:
Would Congress be able, and or likely, to pass an amendment to give the power to give the time, place, and manner to the executive branch?
Fink: “Congress cannot pass an amendment on their own, it would have to be passed by 3/4 of the states. If you are asking Congress to give up their power on elections and state controlled elections… Constitutional crisis…”
Is it constitutional to nationalize elections and take power away from the states own election process, is there any way around the process if Trump wants to if it’s blocked?
Fink: “No. A president could declare a national emergency with an executive order and attempt to control the balloting. That would be a constitutional crisis.”
President Trump has done more than just flirt with the idea, though. And has made multiple executive orders in order to control voting. On March 31, 2026, Trump signed the Ensuring Citizenship Verification and Integrity in Federal Elections order, which created barriers to mail in voting, which he has slammed endlessly during his time as president as a system used for election fraud and being unsafe. President Trump voted by mail in the Florida special election in 2026.
What is the allure for President Trump?
Likely, the main reason he wants a nationalized election system is power. Say, if Congress did pass a constitutional amendment to give up its power and give it to the executive branch, a president could manipulate and abuse the system for their own benefit. If the president was given the same powers to pick and choose election times, places, and manner, then a president could make it as difficult as possible for the people he doesn’t want to vote against him to vote.
If a Democratic president seeks a reelection, they could simply put all the voting ballots in liberal aligned cities like Houston, Los Angeles, New York City, Chicago and Milwaukee. Thus making it increasingly more difficult for rural, more republican voters to reach the polls.
The same goes for a Republican President who wishes for reelection, who could put the ballots in rural towns that vote more conservatively to boost their votes while making it harder for liberal voters to cast their votes.
Currently, as it stands, the states are the ones who count their votes and hand them off to the electors in the electoral college. But under a nationalized election, all the votes would have to be counted under the executive branch, with no checks and balances to make sure the votes are counted equally and nobody is left out. I asked Fink once more on if a national election could, at all, make the system more democratic, and Fink responded with, “We do not want one entity counting all of the ballots. The states have been fine for the last 80-100 years at elections,” and then he restated, “States have signed off legally on the 2016 and 2020 elections as fair by both Republican and Democrats.”
As President Donald Trump’s second term continues, the centralization of power seems to only be continuing. The Constitution stands in his way of complete electoral power, and he is looking for any way to get around our founding fathers intentions for his own gain. He wants the power to control the very fundamentals of our democracy. Do we trust one singular man to count the votes of all the people of America? Or do we keep the power within the states?
