Trump is seeking executive power over elections, might declare ‘national emergency’: Washington Post report
2 min readFeb 27, 2026 10:57 AM IST
Allies of US President Donald Trump, who claim to be in coordination with the White House, are reportedly circulating a 17-page executive order that will allow the president to declare a national emergency over claims of Chinese interference in the 2020 election.
The “emergency” will allow Trump to ban mail ballots in November’s midterm elections, a cause he has repeatedly previewed. It will also make Voted ID mandatory.
The White House declined to elaborate on Trump’s plans.
“Under the Constitution, it’s the legislatures and states that really control how a state conducts its elections, and the president doesn’t have any power to do that,” said Peter Ticktin, a Florida lawyer who is advocating for the draft executive order, reported The Washington Post.
Ticktin said he’s had “certain coordination” with White House officials but declined to specify, citing safety concerns.
“But here we have a situation where the president is aware that there are foreign interests that are interfering in our election processes,” Ticktin added. “That causes a national emergency where the president has to be able to deal with it.”
Ticktin was part of Trump’s legal team that filed an unsuccessful 2022 lawsuit accusing Democrats of conspiring to damage him with allegations that his 2016 campaign colluded with Russia.
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He also represented Tina Peters, a former Colorado county clerk imprisoned on state charges arising from breaking into voting equipment, whom Trump said he pardoned in December.
