A controversial 17-page draft executive order, among associates of President Donald Trump, is apparently being circulated saying it would authorize one of the election’s most important powers under the federal government to issue a declaration of a national emergency while giving the presidency unprecedented control over the U.S. voting system. The report, which emerged Feb. 26, 2026, posits that the administration could subvert state law and claim control of voting infrastructure under emergency laws.
Proposed Order: Federal Takeover of Elections?
The draft, which is being pushed by Florida-area lawyer Peter Ticktin and a range of other right-wing supporters, all in cooperation with the White House, uses the allegations of foreign encroachment particularly China to justify passing National Emergencies Act (NEA), the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) provisions under which the White House may impose strict enforcement.
Key provisions in draft report include:
- Seizing Devices: The power comes from declaring voting machines "agents of foreign influence" and the power of confiscating them before federal inspection.
- Banning Mail-in Ballots: Banning mail-in ballots unilaterally on the basis that they are "vectors of foreign interference".
- Overriding state laws: Bypassing the U.S. Constitution's so-called Elections Clause, which stipulates that each State can manage elections on its own.
The Legal Approach: IEEPA And 'Extraordinary Threats
Advocates of the order contend that under the IEEPA, the President has the authority to combat “unusual and extraordinary threats” to national security. Ticktin’s memo states that if there is an election emergency featuring foreign actors, the President can use these powers to "protect the economy and foreign policy" of the United States.
But legal scholars like Elizabeth Goitein of the Brennan Center for Justice ridiculed the memo and explained that the IEEPA is not a domestic measure to make national choices, but is a sanctions law aimed at property deals that are made in the territory of foreign nationals or those seeking to purchase real estate. “Nothing in the IEEPA replaces federal regulations prohibiting interference in elections,” Goitein said.
A History of Emergency Declarations
The report arrives at a time when the Trump administration is using emergency powers to achieve a multiplicity of policy objectives early in 2026.
- Energy emergency: In Jan. 2026, Trump resumed a national emergency announced in 2025 to deal "with insufficient energy and critical minerals production".
- Cuba & Tariffs: A national emergency regarding Cuba was declared January 29, 2026 and authorizes tariffs on any country that supplies oil to the island.
- Border Operations: Various emergencies relating to the Southern Border and transnational cartels were resumed for another year at the federal level on January 12, 2026.
