Jessica Tezoquipa, news editor

On Feb. 2, President Donald Trump called for Republicans to nationalize elections in the lead-up to midterm elections. The nationalization of elections would be an unprecedented change in the federal government’s role in elections, as elections have been done completely by the states throughout the country’s history. 

While on a podcast with conservative political commentator Dan Bongino, Trump said, “The Republicans should say, ‘We want to take over [the voting in at least]’ 15 places; the Republicans ought to nationalize the voting.” Trump has introduced and endorsed previous bills that would seek to provide greater federal oversight in elections, such as the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act and an election reform bill called the Make Elections Great Again (MEGA) Act. These acts seek to ban mail in ballots and require photo ID at polls. This is a further escalation of his rhetoric that there is widespread voter fraud in elections across the state, stating that “we have to vote, and we have to make sure that we stop them from cheating, because they cheat like dogs,” but according to PBS News, there is very little evidence to support any voter fraud in the 2016, 2020, and 2024 elections.  

The timing of these calls for federalizing elections comes after Democrat Taylor Rehmet flipped a Texas Senate seat, which previously was a historically Republican seat, in a special election and won by 17 points, according to NBC News. These calls also come after the Trump administration’s lawsuits towards democratic states seeking to obtain voter rolls, Minnesota being one of them. On Feb. 2, Donald Trump stated on the Dan Bongino Show, “We want one thing in Minnesota; we can get out of there really fast; we want their prisoners,” which contradicts Attorney General Pam Bondi’s previous offer to Minnesota officials, which was if Minnesota handed over their voting registration records, she would extract ICE agents from Minneapolis, according to CNN.

“I think it’s really scary that the government can demand these things and hold the safety of citizens at gunpoint,” stated Augsburg student Elena Schmidt. “I don’t trust him to do good things with that, especially if he continues to be wrong about rigged elections and stuff. We shouldn’t allow him to have that much power.” 

Article I, Section IV, of the constitution states, “The Times, Places and Manner of holding Elections for Senators and Representatives, shall be prescribed in each State by the Legislature thereof; but the Congress may at any time by Law make or alter such Regulations, except as to the Places of chusing Senators.” That clause gives Congress the ability to regulate elections but specifically gives individual states the task of administering elections. 

On Feb. 2, President Donald Trump called for Republicans to nationalize elections in the lead-up to midterm elections. The nationalization of elections would be an unprecedented change in the federal government’s role in elections, as elections have been done completely by the states throughout the country’s history. 

While on a podcast with conservative political commentator Dan Bongino, Trump said, “The Republicans should say, ‘We want to take over [the voting in at least]’ 15 places; the Republicans ought to nationalize the voting.” Trump has introduced and endorsed previous bills that would seek to provide greater federal oversight in elections, such as the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act and an election reform bill called the Make Elections Great Again (MEGA) Act. These acts seek to ban mail in ballots and require photo ID at polls. This is a further escalation of his rhetoric that there is widespread voter fraud in elections across the state, stating that “we have to vote, and we have to make sure that we stop them from cheating, because they cheat like dogs,” but according to PBS News, there is very little evidence to support any of Trump’s claims in the 2016, 2020, and 2024 elections.  

The timing of these calls for federalizing elections comes after Democrat Taylor Rehmet flipped a Texas senate seat, which previously was a historically Republican seat, in a special election and won by 17 points, according to NBC News. These calls also come after the Trump administration’s lawsuits towards democratic states seeking to obtain voter rolls, Minnesota being one of them. On Feb. 2, Donald Trump stated on the Dan Bongino Show, “We want one thing in Minnesota; we can get out of there really fast; we want their prisoners,” which contradicts Attorney General Pam Bondi’s previous offer to Minnesota officials, which was if Minnesota handed over their voting registration records, she would extract ICE agents from Minneapolis, according to CNN.

“I think it’s really scary that the government can demand these things and hold the safety of citizens at gunpoint,” stated an Augsburg student. “I don’t trust him to do good things with that, especially if he continues to be wrong about rigged elections and stuff. We shouldn’t allow him to have that much power.” 

Article I, Section IV, of the constitution states, “The Times, Places and Manner of holding Elections for Senators and Representatives, shall be prescribed in each State by the Legislature thereof; but the Congress may at any time by Law make or alter such Regulations, except as to the Places of choosing Senators.” That clause gives Congress the ability to regulate elections but specifically gives individual states the task of administering elections.