What does it mean when the president urges Republicans to "nationalize the voting"?

Summary

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Podcast Summary: Consider This from NPR

Episode: What does it mean when the president urges Republicans to "nationalize the voting"?
Date: February 8, 2026
Host: Emily Kwong
Featured Guest: Wendy Weiser, Vice President for Democracy, Brennan Center for Justice at NYU Law School

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Episode Overview

This episode examines President Trump's recent calls to "nationalize the voting," focusing on their constitutionality, historical context, and implications for the future of U.S. democracy. The conversation features expert commentary from Wendy Weiser, who explains the foundational role of states in election administration, analyzes the risks of federal overreach, and explores the impact of ongoing efforts to question election integrity.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

The President's Call to "Nationalize the Voting"

• Historical Context:

  • Emily Kwong replays the infamous January 2021 call in which President Trump asked Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to “find 11,780 votes.”
    • Memorable quote: “All I want to do is this. I just want to find 11,780 votes.” – Donald Trump (00:33)
  • Kwong notes that this call was pivotal evidence in impeachment proceedings, demonstrating the limits of presidential power—Trump had to ask, not order, local officials. (00:22–01:10)

• Escalation to Federal Action:

  • Recent statements from Trump advocating for nationalizing elections, especially targeting Democratic strongholds like Atlanta, Philadelphia, and Detroit.
    • Soundbite: “We should take over the voting … The Republicans ought to nationalize the voting.” – Trump (01:20)
  • Department of Justice recently seized ballots in Fulton County, Georgia. (01:29)
  • Steve Bannon claims poll stations could be surrounded by ICE agents come November.
    • Soundbite: “We're gonna have ICE surround the polls come November.” – Steve Bannon (01:58)

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Legal Framework: Who Actually Controls Elections?

• State Authority:

  • Wendy Weiser emphasizes:
    • “The president has no role in running elections in our country... the Constitution makes it clear that it is states that regulate federal elections. Congress can pass laws overriding that, but the president has no role.” (03:57)
  • Local officials prepare rigorously for elections; the Trump administration has unsuccessfully attempted to gather sensitive voter information, being repeatedly rebuffed by courts.
    • “Most states... have refused to turn over that sensitive voter information. … The administration doesn’t have access to the sensitive voter data. They have no legal authorization.” – Wendy Weiser (05:12)

• Privacy Protections:

  • Data is protected by state privacy laws, limiting what can be shared even with federal authorities. (05:12)

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Threats of Federal Overreach & Voter Intimidation

• ICE Agents at Polls:

  • Weiser labels Bannon's remarks about ICE at polls as a direct threat and illegal under both civil and criminal federal law.
    • “It is prohibited for there to be any troops or any armed federal agents … anywhere near where voting or elections are being conducted.” (05:53)

• National Guard Precedents:

  • Public anxiety is growing due to prior National Guard deployments and confusion over the president’s authority.
    • Weiser reassures: courts are expected to act swiftly to block any unlawful federal interference, but election officials and communities continue to prepare proactively. (06:25)
  • Voters are encouraged to consider early or mail-in voting if they feel unsafe. (06:25)

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Legislative Developments: The SAVE Act

• What is the SAVE Act?
  • “The SAVE act is a vote suppression bill. It would block millions of American citizens from voting. It requires you to show a passport or birth certificate … and 21 million eligible American citizens don’t have ready access to those documents.” – Wendy Weiser (07:27)
  • 50% of Americans lack passports; many can’t locate their birth certificate.
  • The law, if passed, could “upend elections and block millions of Americans.” (07:27)
  • A vote is expected in the House imminently; Weiser urges listeners to contact their representatives. (07:27–08:16)

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The Impact of Election Misinformation

• Erosion of Trust:
  • The administration’s rhetoric is “shaking voters' confidence.”
  • Election administrators face “a lot of direct threats from the federal government.”
  • Despite these challenges:
    • “Our elections are still strong... We have a backbone of election workers who know their jobs. ... Many entities are working very hard to secure the elections and to ensure that the election is very free and fair.” – Wendy Weiser (08:23)

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Notable Quotes and Memorable Moments

• “All I want to do is this. I just want to find 11,780 votes.” – Donald Trump (00:33)
• “We should take over the voting … The Republicans ought to nationalize the voting.” – President Trump (01:20)
• “The president has no role in running elections in our country.” – Wendy Weiser (03:57)
• “It is prohibited for there to be any troops or any armed federal agents of any sort anywhere near where voting … [is] being conducted.” – Wendy Weiser (05:53)
• “The SAVE act would really upend elections and block millions of Americans.” – Wendy Weiser (07:27)
• “Our elections are still strong … We have a backbone of election workers … working very hard to secure the elections.” – Wendy Weiser (08:23)

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Timeline of Key Segments

• 00:00–01:10 – Playback and context of Trump’s call to Georgia Secretary of State
• 01:20–02:03 – Trump’s new statements on nationalizing voting; mention of DOJ actions and Steve Bannon’s podcast
• 03:44–06:13 – Wendy Weiser explains state vs. federal authority, legal protections, and data privacy
• 06:13–07:06 – Discussion about the threat of armed agents, voter intimidation, and legal recourse
• 07:06–08:16 – The SAVE Act: details, risks, and likely impacts
• 08:16–09:10 – The uptick in misinformation, threats, and reassurance about the resilience of election systems

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Summary Takeaways

• U.S. elections are constitutionally managed by states, not the president.
• Presidential efforts to “nationalize” voting lack current constitutional or legal standing.
• New federal threats and legislative proposals (like the SAVE Act) could compromise voter access and confidence—especially for marginalized groups.
• Voters, local officials, and civil society are organizing to protect the integrity and accessibility of elections, while courts remain a critical check on potential overreach.

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For listeners, the episode serves as both a primer on U.S. electoral governance and a call to awareness and engagement during a period of heightened political tension and misinformation.

Transcript

[Emily Kwong]

I want to play you a phone call.

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Okay.

[Narrator/Reporter]

All right. So, Mr. President, everybody is on the line. And just so Secretary of State and two other individuals.

[Emily Kwong]

This is from January 2021, when President Trump was contesting Joe Biden's victory in the 2020 presidential election.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Okay, thank you very much. Hello, Brad and Ryan and everybody. We appreciate the time and the call.

[Emily Kwong]

In this call, President Trump is speaking with Republican Brad Raffensperger, Georgia Secretary of State, and he tells him to reevaluate the 20 results in his state.

[Narrator/Reporter]

So, look, all I want to do is this. I just want to find 11,780 votes.

[Emily Kwong]

This call was a big deal. It was cited in Trump's impeachment that year and a central piece of evidence in a now defunct criminal prosecution in Fulton County, Georgia. Raffensperger refused, by the way. But the call is important for another reason. The president had to ask an election official to launch an investigation in his state. He couldn't order them to.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Okay, thank you, Brad. Thank you, Ryan. Thank you. Thank you, everybody. Thank you. Thank you very much.

[Emily Kwong]

Bye. States have the sole power to administer elections. But now this. A new declaration from the president.

[Narrator/Reporter]

We should take over the voting. The voting in at least many 15 places. The Republicans ought to nationalize the voting.

[Emily Kwong]

That was the president speaking on Dan Bongino's podcast last Monday. And in a later interview with NBC, Trump doubled down on his comments and listed Atlanta, Philadelphia, and Detroit, all Democratic cities, as targets for federal involvement in elections. His Department of Justice seized ballots cast during the 2020 election from a Fulton county election center late last month. Also in recent days, Steve Bannon, the former Trump strategist, said on his podcast War Room.

[Wendy Weiser]

We're gonna have ice surround the polls come November.

[Emily Kwong]

Consider this. The president has repeatedly questioned the integrity of election systems despite no evidence of widespread voter fraud. Now he is calling to nationalize voting. Why do state governments run elections? And what happens if that power is under threat? From npr, I'm Emily Kwong.

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[Emily Kwong]

It's consider this from npr. Wendy Weiser is the Vice President for Democracy at the Brennan center for justice at NYU Law School, a think tank and voting rights advocacy group. And I asked her what it would mean to nationalize the vote.

[Wendy Weiser]

One thing that's really important for people to know is that actually the president has no role in running elections in our country. In our country, elections are run by the states and 10,000 local jurisdictions across the country. And the Constitution makes it clear that it is states that regulate federal elections. Congress can pass laws overriding that, but the president has no role.

[Emily Kwong]

So the midterms, they're basically around the corner. We what are local officials doing to protect state run elections?

[Wendy Weiser]

Election officials are doing what they always do, which is preparing furiously to ensure free and fair elections and planning for every possible disruption that might come their way. The Trump administration has been trying to gather up all of the sensitive voter information from the voter rolls across the country. The law requires states to maintain and secure that these are these. And most states and most state officials, Republican and Democratic, have refused to turn over that sensitive voter information.

[Emily Kwong]

Isn't it also protected by US Privacy laws, that data?

[Wendy Weiser]

It is protected by state privacy laws. And so most states have said, no, you cannot have that information. You can have. There's certain amounts of voter file information that can be made publicly available and available for inspection. The administration has actually sued now more than 20 states and D.C. to try to get that. And the courts have actually been backing up the states. They have said the administration doesn't have access to the sensitive voter data. They have no legal authorization.

[Emily Kwong]

Going back to Steve Bannon's comments on his podcast when he says we're going to have ICE agents surround the polls. What do we need to understand about a comment like that?

[Wendy Weiser]

This is a threat. It is prohibited for there to be any troops or any armed federal agents of any sort anywhere near where voting or elections are being conducted. There is very clear federal law, both civil and criminal law, that prohibit intimidation.

[Emily Kwong]

Of voters and Yet I think the deployment of the National Guard in various cities has made people question like maybe agents can appear at will at the wish of the president and his administration.

[Wendy Weiser]

That's certainly a valid concern. I am confident that courts will move quickly if that happens to try to prohibit it. But I do think election officials, voters, communities are planning just in case, in case the administration does not follow the law to make sure that voters and all voters feel safe in their communities and in participating. And voters can also plan ahead, think about voting early or voting by mail if they're worried in their communities. But this would be clearly unlawful and inappropriate.

[Emily Kwong]

Republican lawmakers are working to advance their own voting law, the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility act or SAVE act, which would require voters to show passports or birth certificates in order to vote. If this act passes, first of all, do you think it could pass? And second of all, how would it affect voting?

[Wendy Weiser]

The SAVE act is a vote suppression bill. It would block millions of American citizens from voting. It requires you to show a passport or birth certificate, as you said, in order to register to vote. And 21 million eligible American citizens don't have ready access to those documents. Roughly half of Americans don't even have a passport. Many of us don't even know where our birth certificate is. The SAVE act would really upend elections and block millions of Americans. It is a real risk. I think there's going to be likely a vote on the House floor this week or next and Americans should pay attention. This is their representative. So this is an opportunity to make their voices heard.

[Emily Kwong]

What is the cumulative effect of the administration's questioning of election security, particularly in this midterm year?

[Wendy Weiser]

This is shaking voters confidence in the system. It's actually creating fear among election administrators nationwide who are working really hard, but they are now under a lot of direct threats from the federal government. But I do want to reinforce that our elections are still strong. We still have, they are still administered. We have a backbone of election workers across the country who know their jobs. We have election, state and federal election laws that are on the voters side here. And we have many, many people and entities who are working very hard to secure the elections and to ensure that the election is very free and fair.

[Emily Kwong]

That's Wendy Weiser of the Brennan center for Justice. Thank you so much for talking to us.

[Wendy Weiser]

Thank you for having me.

[Emily Kwong]

This episode was produced by Henry Larson and Kai McNamee with audio engineering by Damien Herring. It was edited by Sarah Robbins and Ahmad Daman. Our executive producer is Sammy Yenigan. Foreign. It's consider this from npr. I'm Emily Kwong. There is a long history of misinformation about autism, from accusations about bad parenting to RFK Jr. S false allegations that Tylenol has something to do with it. But science is getting closer to truly understanding what drives autism. It looks like there are hundreds of.

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Genes that are involved.

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To find out what the research actually says about autism and what we still don't know, listen to Short Wave in the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts.

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