Trump called on Republicans to nationalize voting. What does that mean?

Trump did not specify which states or jurisdictions he believes Republicans should target, nor did he outline any specific legal or legislative pathway to accomplish such a move. So what is he proposing?

Nationalizing voting means transferring control over elections from state or local governments to the federal government to make the voting process more uniform across the country. Each state decides how its elections are run, ranging from mail-in ballots to voter identification.

Trump is aggressively pushing for Congress to pass the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, otherwise known as the SAVE Act, to require proof of U.S. citizenship for voter registration.

A number of House Republicans tried attaching the SAVE Act to the funding deal that would end the partial government shutdown. Trump clarified there would be “NO CHANGES” to the funding package, promising a legislative pathway for Republicans to pass the bill.

After speaking with the White House, Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) and other House Republicans indicated they would vote to approve the funding deal without the SAVE Act. The vote to advance a five-bill appropriations package and a 10-day continuing resolution to fund the Department of Homeland Security, among other bills, is set for Tuesday.

In a previous statement to the Washington Examiner, White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said Trump “cares deeply about the safety and security of our election,” and pointed to his support for Congress passing the SAVE Act and other reforms that would impose requirements on no-excuse mail-in voting, photo ID rules, and ballot harvesting practices.

Other ways to nationalize voting include federal oversight of election administration and security, as well as oversight of national election infrastructure, such as voting databases and system standards. It’s unlikely this would mean federal officers physically running every polling location across the country.

The Washington Examiner contacted the Republican National Committee for comment on Trump’s proposal to nationalize voting.

Since he lost the 2020 presidential election, Trump has made election fraud a key talking point and a top priority after returning to office.

The issue came to the forefront last week when the FBI raided an election facility in Fulton County, Georgia, where Trump claims alleged voter fraud took place. The raid became even more controversial after lawmakers learned Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard was present at the facility on the day of the operation, which many Democrats noted was unusual for such an operation.

Trump said Gabbard was there to safeguard election integrity, even though her office doesn’t directly oversee elections unless it involves foreign interference in some capacity. In a letter to Congress on Monday, Gabbard said Trump personally requested her presence during the FBI raid.

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Also on Monday, Trump said “interesting” revelations will come from the Fulton County raid. So far, his efforts to challenge the 2020 election results in Georgia and elsewhere have been denied by courts.

“Now you’re going to see something in Georgia where they were able to get, with a court order, the ballots,” Trump told Bongino. “You’re going to see some interesting things come out.”