President Donald Trump denied any knowledge of a plan to declare a national emergency related to the upcoming midterm elections on Friday. He responded to a reporter’s inquiry about a draft executive order by asking, “Who told you that?” and stated that he had “never heard about it.”
Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, a Democrat who is widely believed to be preparing a 2028 presidential bid, reposted the clip on X and wrote: “Donald, you’re not denying it.”
The remarks were made in light of a Washington Post report that pro-Trump activists are proposing to cite alleged foreign election interference as a way to expand presidential authority over voting.
With the midterm elections approaching later this year, Trump has frequently expressed concerns about election security and potential fraud. The Republican Party has been advocating for new voter ID measures, which would impose additional restrictions on voter registration, Newsweek reports.
The GOP argues that these measures are necessary to prevent illegal immigrants from voting—an occurrence that is largely unlawful and infrequently happens. However, critics contend that the proposed SAVE Act will create unnecessary barriers for American citizens exercising their constitutional rights.
Earlier this month, Trump stated that he would enforce voter ID requirements for the midterm elections, regardless of whether Congress passes the SAVE Act. He indicated that he would implement this plan through an executive order, which has not yet been issued.
The Washington Post reported on Thursday that pro-Trump activists claimed the rationale for the proposed order stemmed from allegations of Chinese interference in the 2020 election—an election Trump has persistently claimed was stolen from him, despite multiple investigations concluding otherwise.
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On Friday, Democracy Docket published what is said to be a draft of a 17-page executive order outlining significant changes to how U.S. elections are conducted. The document, dated April 12, 2025, is intended for implementation in the 2026 midterm elections.
The proposed order presents a national framework for elections, pending necessary changes at both the congressional and state levels. Key features include the exclusive use of paper ballots, stringent regulations regarding absentee voting, and a much-debated requirement for voter identification to verify U.S. citizenship.
Additionally, the order specifies that all election equipment must be manufactured in the United States, mandates non-networked voter registration systems, and prohibits the use of electronic vote counting.
Concerns have been raised about the president’s proposals to federalize elections, as the U.S. Constitution empowers states to determine how elections are administered. That has resulted in each state establishing its own systems and rules for conducting elections.
That said, the Constitution also assigns Congress some authority over federal elections, which is the basis for the SAVE Act, which would require, among other measures, a government-issued identification to vote.
“This proposal is outright illegal, and it will not stand. The Constitution explicitly grants the power to regulate elections to state legislatures and Congress, not the president,” NAACP National President Derrick Johnson said.
“Trump is incredibly weak, pathetic, and overwhelmingly unpopular with the American people. That’s why he’s throwing everything at the wall to see what sticks. And this spaghetti will not stick. His administration has so poorly failed us on the economy that his only option now, to maintain power in the midterms, is to resort to illegal orders,” he claimed, though several indicators are better now than when Joe Biden and Kamala Harris were in office.
Added Bryan Steil, a Wisconsin Republican and chairman of the House Administration Committee: “Americans should be confident their elections are being run with integrity—including commonsense voter ID requirements, clean voter rolls, and citizenship verification. These reforms will improve voter confidence, bolster election integrity, and make it easy to vote, but hard to cheat.”
