What Trump’s call to ‘nationalize’ elections means. Here’s what he said

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President Donald Trump has called on Republicans to “nationalize” and “take over” voting in at least 15 places, repeating unsubstantiated claims of widespread election fraud and alleging—without evidence—that migrants vote illegally.

Donald Trump’s comments come amid renewed scrutiny of the 2020 election, including an FBI search of a Georgia elections office.(AP Photo / Allison Robbert)

US President Donald Trump said Republicans should “nationalize” elections and “take over” voting in at least 15 places, renewing his unsubstantiated claims that US elections are plagued by widespread fraud.

Speaking on The Dan Bongino Show podcast on February 2, Trump gave no specifics on which states or locations he was referring to, or how such a takeover would be implemented.

“The Republicans should say, we want to take over. We should take over the voting… The Republicans ought to nationalize the voting,” Trump said.

What ‘nationalizing’ elections would imply

Trump’s remarks suggest shifting control of elections away from individual states and toward a centralized federal authority or nationally controlled system. Currently, US elections are administered by states and local jurisdictions, which manage voter registration, ballot counting, voting machines and certification of results.

Trump accused several states of wrongdoing, saying, “We have states that are so crooked and they’re counting votes. We have states that I won that show I didn’t win.”

Constitutional framework for US elections

Under the US Constitution, states—not the federal government—are responsible for conducting elections. While Congress can set limited nationwide rules, such as voting rights protections, states retain primary authority over how elections are run.

Legal hurdles

Legal experts say any attempt to federalize or “nationalize” elections would face steep constitutional barriers and likely trigger immediate legal challenges from states.

Pushback also came from within Trump’s own party. Republican Representative Don Bacon said 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.”

Claims about migrants voting

Trump tied his call for nationalized elections to claims that immigrants are voting illegally—an assertion not supported by evidence. Only US citizens are permitted to vote in federal and state elections.

“These people were brought to our country to vote, and they vote illegally,” Trump said, adding that Republicans were not being “tougher” on the issue.

Link to Georgia probe and 2020 election claims

Trump’s comments came days after the FBI executed a search warrant at a Fulton County elections center near Atlanta as part of an investigation related to the 2020 presidential election.

Georgia is among the states Trump continues to falsely claim were stolen from him, despite repeated court rulings and reviews finding no evidence of widespread fraud.

“Now, you’re going to see something in Georgia… You’re going to see some interesting things come out,” Trump said.