US President Donald Trump has left open the possibility of declaring a national security emergency around elections in order to impose new voting requirements without approval from Congress. The suggestion was raised during an interview with Trump on Monday by Wayne Allyn Root, host of Real America’s Voice.
Root urged the President to declare a national security emergency to bypass Congress and introduce requirements including proof of US citizenship, voter identification and restrictions on mail-in-ballot voting before the November midterm elections.
“Let me just say that stranger things have happened, Ok. I’ll leave it at that,” Trump replied.
The President did not elaborate on the comment.
Root had told him: “Let me put an idea in your head OK.”
🚨 JUST IN: Trump hints he could declare a national emergency for the midterms pic.twitter.com/YLdHlqyktS
— Republicans against Trump (@RpsAgainstTrump) August 11, 2026
“You have the right to declare a national security emergency for elections,” he said. “[Congress] can’t challenge it; it can only be overturned by a two-thirds vote of both houses of Congress. So if you do this in the next month, we will get photo ID, proof of citizenship and a limit to mail-in ballots.”
However, the President does not have an established legal authority to unilaterally change the rules governing federal elections.
A March 2026 analysis by the Center for American Progress said no federal executive branch official had the authority to alter rules for federal elections. Under the US Constitution, Congress has the power to alter how federal elections are administered.
Trump has repeatedly claimed, without providing evidence, that US elections can be “rigged” through fake ballots, voter fraud and other forms of interference. There is no evidence that widespread voter fraud has changed the outcome of a US election.
The President and his allies have pushed for several changes to voting rules, including requiring voters to prove their US citizenship, requiring identification to vote and restricting some forms of voting by mail.
Several of those efforts have faced legal challenges.
A federal judge has blocked the enforcement of an executive order signed by Mr Trump last year that directed states to create a list of eligible citizens to help determine voter eligibility. Only US citizens are permitted to vote in federal elections, while research indicates that non-citizen voting is extremely rare.
Courts have also blocked an executive order seeking to restrict voting by mail.
A federal appeals court said the order “directs unprecedented levels of involvement by federal officials in how states administer elections”.
The Trump administration has since asked the Supreme Court to allow it to restrict voting by mail.
Trump has also expressed frustration over Congress’s failure to pass the SAVE Act, which would introduce new voting requirements. The legislation has not been approved by Congress.