The Lawfare Podcast Lawfare Daily: Can the President Declare an Elections Emergency?
5 snips
Mar 20, 2026 
Anna Bower, a reporter who traced the draft elections executive order, and Molly Roberts, an analyst of executive orders and election law. They unpack a circulating draft that would centralize election control. They trace its murky authorship and QAnon ties. They explore legal theories claiming emergency powers and the practical chaos such a move could cause.
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March 2025 Order Sought Stricter ID And Machine Rules
- A March 2025 executive order tried to tighten voter registration and decertify machines by directing the Election Assistance Commission to require passport or photo ID for registration.
- Courts blocked central provisions because the ID requirement was impractical and the machine recertification standards were costly and infeasible before midterms.
Save America Act Would Tighten Registration And Reporting
- The Save America Act would force most Americans to register in person and show photo ID plus proof of citizenship, making registration harder for groups like married women with name changes.
- It would also require states to submit voter rolls to DHS and tighten mail-in ballot processes without outright banning them.
Peter Tickton Claims He Emailed Draft EO To Trump
- Peter Tickton, a longtime Trump friend and attorney, says he wrote a precursor and emailed a version of the 17-page draft EO to Trump and has direct lines to the White House.
- Tickton named proponents including Patrick Byrne, Mike Flynn, and Stephanie Lambert as part of the circulating draft's origin story.