The majority that Donald Trump enjoys in both chambers of Congress will be at stake in the midterm elections next November, but he is already seeking a change in the rules. The Republican Party presented a bill to reform the electoral system, while the president advocates that, contrary to what the Constitution establishes, it is the federal Executive that supervises the elections. Opponents of the initiative denounce that thousands of voters could lose their right and warn of a violation of the autonomy of the states.

First modification: 02/05/2026 - 18:51 Last modification: 02/05/2026 - 20:52

The president of the United States, Donald Trump, assures that he wants to reform the electoral system in the run-up to the decisive midterm elections, scheduled for next November 6. In the crucial elections, all 435 seats in the House of Representatives and a third of the Senate will be renewed.

The Republican, who continues to declare without evidence that he was a victim of "electoral fraud" in 2020, advocates "nationalizing" these elections, as he stated in a podcast on February 2. The president proposes that the federal Government, and not each state, supervise the voting, contrary to what is ordered by the Elections Clause of the country's Constitution.

Trump stated that Republicans should "take control of the voting in at least 15 places," although he did not specify which electoral districts he was referring to.

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Days later, from the Oval Office, the president assured, without evidence, that in some states there is "terrible electoral corruption," of which he gave Pennsylvania, Atlanta, Detroit, and Philadelphia—mostly Democrats—as examples. "I think the federal government should get involved," he said.

Opponents of the current tenant of the White House and analysts critical of the proposal denounce that it attacks the autonomy of the States, deprives citizens eligible to vote of the vote and seeks to change electoral conditions prior to highly relevant elections.

Read alsoThe Supreme Court endorses new pro-Democratic electoral map of California, under threat from Trump

What does the US Constitution say about election oversight?

The US Constitution, the second oldest in the world, establishes that the president has no direct power over electoral administration, stating in the Elections Clause of Article I that "the time, place and manner of holding elections for senators and representatives shall be determined in each state by the legislature thereof."

Thus, the Magna Carta is explicit in stating that it is the responsibility of each state to define how voting is organized, how voters are registered and how votes are counted.

However, Magna Carta also empowers Congress to "by law, establish or modify such norms, except with respect to the place of election of senators."

Trump aims to take advantage of this regulatory window to modify the logistical process of the midterm elections, through Republican congressmen.

Read alsoFederal court detects “racial manipulation” in the new congressional map of Texas and prohibits its use

What does the legislative project to change the electoral rules consist of?

The Republican Party's proposal to reform the electoral system was reflected in a document released on January 29 under the title 'Make Elections Great Again Act' (MEGA), promoted by the president of the House Administration Committee, Republican Bryan Steil.

The proposal introduces stricter requirements for registering as a voter, limits voting by mail and bans some voting systems that have spread in states such as Maine and Alaska.

“Americans should have confidence that their elections are conducted with integrity, including sensible voter ID requirements, clean voter records, and citizenship verification,” Steil said.

The modifications provide that voters must present a valid photo ID before voting and require states to verify that each person on the electoral roll is a US citizen.

Additionally, the MEGA Act seeks to ensure that all votes in federal elections be cast on physical ballots that can be audited. Currently, more than 45 states use paper to some degree - 70% of votes in 2024 - but others - such as Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina or Tennessee - largely depend on machines without a paper trail.

Trump has shown himself to be a staunch detractor of the mail-in voting system, which he has defined as "corrupt" or a "hoax."

Along these lines, the MEGA Act seeks to prevent states from continuing to use universal vote-by-mail systems, through which authorities send ballots to all voters without a prior request. At least eight states use this scheme: California, Colorado, Hawaii, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Vermont and Washington, most of them with a dominant Democratic leaning.

In addition, Republicans propose that the authorities of each state be responsible for ensuring that mail-in ballots are received before the polls close on Election Day, with limited exceptions for military members and voters abroad.

In parallel, the MEGA Act proposes a "limitation on the possession of votes by mail" so that only the voter or an immediate family member can deliver their ballot, which closes the door for third parties, such as volunteers or activists, to collect, transport and deliver multiple votes to the electoral authorities.

The electoral reform proposal also seeks to prohibit the use of ranked-choice voting, through which voters list candidates in order of favoritism on the same ballot, instead of marking just one.

Under this system, if no one reaches more than 50% of first preferences, the last person is eliminated and their votes go to the voter's next preference, an action that is repeated until someone achieves an absolute majority. Ranked-choice voting is used in federal general elections in Maine (for all districts since 2018) and Alaska (for Congress and Senate since 2022).

"These reforms will improve voter confidence, strengthen electoral integrity and make it easy to vote, but difficult to cheat," defended Republican Steil.

Read alsoCalifornia approves redrawing electoral districts to counter Trump's power

Is Trump looking to change the rules to favor his party?

In line with Representative Bryan Steil, parliamentary precursor of the Make Elections Great Again Act (MEGA), the president of the Wisconsin Republican Party, Brian Schimming, defends that electoral reforms are essential to guarantee transparency for voters.

"The MEGA Act is a crucial step in restoring confidence in our democratic process and delivers the long-overdue, common-sense reforms that voters across our state and nation have come to expect," he said.

Steil has included in his project some voices of conservative activists and organizations that advocate for the implementation of electoral reform.

Republican activist Scott Presler of Early Vote Action called these changes essential for a "fair election," while attorney Cleta Mitchel calls the initiative "a fantastic comprehensive law that restores the integrity of elections."

Former Ohio Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell agreed with the requirement for a photo document to vote: "Non-citizen voting in American elections is unacceptable. Voting is a civic duty, a unique privilege and a fundamental right."

However, entities such as the Brennan Center or the American Immigration Council have published studies that conclude that votes cast by non-US citizens constitute a residual percentage, even 0.0001%.

"It could pose the risk of eliminating eligible voters"

Not everyone is in favor of the changes that Donald Trump's Administration proposes.

While the president's most loyal supporters close ranks around the MEGA Act, those who oppose the project predict a detriment to the right to vote and the autonomy of the states.

Democrats in the House and Senate have cast the proposal as an attempt to “manipulate” the rules before the 2026 elections, in the words of Joe Morelle, top Democrat on the House Administration Committee. Morelle called the bill "a last-ditch attempt to prevent millions of Americans from exercising their right to vote."

The director of the Brennan Center's Voting Rights program, Sean Morales-Doyle, also warned that the Republican reform "could risk eliminating eligible voters."

"The last time he started talking like that, his allies minimized the risks and we ended up with what happened on January 6"

Hakeem Jeffries, Democratic leader in the House, maintained that "Republicans do not want free and fair elections because they know that, if that happens, they are going to lose," he said.

However, not all criticism comes from Democrats. Republican Stephen Richer wrote in an article published in the Cato Institute that the current system "allows states to recognize their unique attributes (for example, Western states support voting by mail due to greater geographic distances) and reinforces election security (there is not a single hack that could disrupt all 50 states)."

Traditionally, the ruling party usually loses seats in midterm elections. This year, Democrats only need to take three districts from Republicans to control the House of Representatives.

Donald Trump, the president accused of encouraging the assault on the Capitol on January 6, 2021 to sabotage the inauguration of former President Joe Biden – although he has denied it – is seeking to align his legislators to turn the elections into a "great again" event.

"The last time he started talking like that, his allies minimized the risks and we ended up with what happened on January 6," Brendan Nyhan, a political science professor at Dartmouth College, stressed on his social networks.

Read alsoNorth Carolina: first swing state to join Trump's redrawing of congressional districts

With AP and local media

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