Trump Urges Republicans to Seek Control Over Voting in 15 States Ahead of Midterm Elections

With the United States midterm elections scheduled for November, former President Donald Trump has outlined a strategy aimed at preventing a Republican defeat. Speaking on a podcast aired Monday local time, Trump advised Republican officials to seek control over voting processes in at least 15 states and to push for the nationalization of elections.

Trump said taking control of voting systems would help prevent undocumented immigrants from casting ballots. He claimed immigrants were being brought into the country to vote illegally and accused Republicans of failing to take sufficiently strict action on the issue. According to Trump, Republicans should demand control by saying, “We want to take control.”

“We should take control of voting in at least 15 places,” Trump said. “Republicans should nationalize the voting process.”

In the United States, elections are not conducted as a national process. The federal government does not directly administer elections; instead, the Constitution grants individual states the authority to manage their own electoral systems. However, several election-related bills are currently under consideration in Congress, and if passed, they could have a significant impact on future elections. It is against this backdrop that Trump made his comments on nationalizing elections.

Referring to the previous presidential election, Trump reiterated claims of corruption in certain states. “Some of our states are very corrupt,” he said. “I was made to lose in the vote count in several states where I actually won.” He also hinted at developments in Georgia, saying that “interesting information” would soon emerge from the state.

On Tuesday, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt responded to questions from reporters about Trump’s remarks. She said the president believes in the U.S. Constitution but also believes there has been widespread fraud and irregularities in American elections.

Leavitt added that voter ID requirements are extremely popular and said the president wants to implement related policies nationwide. She noted that he is seeking to pass legislation to make voter ID mandatory in all states.

Meanwhile, Democratic leaders have strongly criticized Trump’s comments. Virginia Senator Mark Warner said on Tuesday that election security is a cornerstone of democracy and warned that Trump’s remarks pose a threat to the 2026 midterm elections and the 2028 presidential election. Warner said the key question now is whether even more harmful tactics will be used to disrupt future elections.