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

Published February 3, 2026 10:01am ET



President Donald Trump made headlines on Monday when he called on the Republican Party to “nationalize” the voting process without explaining what that means exactly.

“The Republicans should say, ‘We want to take over,'” Trump said on former FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino’s new podcast. “We should take over the voting … in at least many, 15 places. The Republicans ought to nationalize the voting. We have states that are so crooked, and they’re counting votes.”

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