00:00There will be midterm elections in the United States soon.
00:02However, President Trump keeps hinting at the possibility of declaring a national emergency
00:06using the elections as a reason.
00:08President Trump has not directly ruled out the possibility of declaring a national emergency
00:11over the 2026 midterm elections, raising tensions in American politics.
00:15President Trump is linking election management issues to the authority of the federal government.
00:18In particular, whether the SAVE Act currently being discussed in the U.S. Congress will pass
00:21has emerged as an important variable.
00:24This bill requires proof of U.S. citizenship during the federal voter registration process
00:28and mandates the presentation of a photo ID during voting.
00:32President Trump and the MAGA faction within the Republican Party argue that this is a key
00:35measure to strengthen election security.
00:37On the other hand, Democrats and some election experts oppose this, arguing that stricter
00:41proof of citizenship and ID requirements could limit voter participation for those who have
00:45difficulty preparing the necessary document.
00:46Currently, the Senate has postponed handling the bill until after the August recess, and
00:50the Senate is scheduled to reconvene on September 14.
00:52President Trump has indicated that if action on the bill continues to be delayed, he will
00:55consider responses at the executive level rather than through the legislative process in Congress.
00:59In particular, when conservative commentator Wayne Root argued that if a national emergency
01:02is declared, the administration could push for photo ID, proof of citizenship, and restrictions
01:06on mail-in voting at the executive level, President Trump did not clearly deny this.
01:10President Trump responded by saying that even stranger things have happened, but he refrained
01:13from commenting on any specific plans.
01:15Although this statement does not mean that any actual executive action has been decided,
01:18the fact that the president is publicly mentioning emergency powers related to elections is causing
01:22major controversy in the political world.
01:24The Trump administration is already engaged in ongoing legal battles with federal courts
01:28over mail-in voting.
01:29President Trump ordered the United States Postal Service to restrict the delivery of mail-in
01:33and absentee ballots in states that do not provide voter list-related data, but several
01:37states and courts have raised issues with the administration's actions.
01:40Some appellate court decisions have given the administration room to push its policies, but in other
01:44areas, existing court restrictions remain in place, making the legal situation even more
01:48complicated.
01:48Because of this, if a national emergency is actually declared, the biggest issue is expected
01:53to be what legal authority the president will have.
01:55Because the US election system gives significant authority to state governments, if the president
01:59tries to use a state of emergency as grounds to have the federal government take control
02:03of the entire midterm election process, a specific legal basis would be required.
02:07Congress also has means to limit the president's actions, but it may require enough seats to
02:11override a presidential veto, so political conflict is expected.
02:14Therefore, this statement is being interpreted not as President Trump declaring a national
02:18emergency right away, but rather as showing what measures the administration could consider
02:23if the SAVE Act is not passed by Congress.
02:25However, the fact that the president directly linked election issues with a national security
02:29emergency just a few months before the midterm elections is likely to further intensify
02:32political debates in the United States.
02:34First, let's take a look at what kind of debates are currently happening in American politics.
02:37As President Trump has not ruled out the possibility of a national emergency, there are completely
02:41different interpretations of his statement in the United States.
02:44On one side, there are suspicions that President Trump is considering declaring a national emergency,
02:48similar to martial law, in anticipation of the possibility that the Republican Party may
02:51be at a disadvantage in the November midterm elections.
02:54There are claims that he's emphasizing the possibility of problems arising during the election
02:57process in advance, so that if any controversy occurs after the actual election, he can use this
03:01as a basis to respond.
03:02This interpretation is especially being raised because President Trump has continuously questioned the
03:06credibility of American elections in the past.
03:08On the other hand, those who support President Trump's approach argue that there are real
03:12loopholes in the U.S. election management system, so measures to address them are necessary.
03:16A representative example is the recent voter registration list error found in New Jersey.
03:20In New Jersey, it was confirmed that due to a software error between 2023 and 2024,
03:256,600 non-U.S. citizens were mistakenly registered as voters.
03:28In the government's initial investigation, it was found that fewer than 400 of them
03:32actually voted in the election.
03:33This incident has sparked considerable controversy in American politics.
03:37The Trump administration and the Republican Party are strengthening their claims that there
03:39are problems with the current voter registration system, citing the fact that non-citizens
03:43were registered on the voter rolls and some of them actually voted.
03:45On the other hand, New Jersey officials stated that this was an administrative issue caused
03:48by a software error, and there is no evidence that the election results were changed because
03:52of this incident.
03:52In fact, we need to distinguish between the claim that about 6,600 people were wrongly registered
03:57and the claim that thousands voted illegally.
03:58The actual number confirmed to have voted is currently less than 400.
04:01However, for President Trump, this incident itself is an important political basis.
04:05The Trump administration is using this case to argue for the necessity of the SAVE Act.
04:08The White House also cited the New Jersey error as a reason to strengthen citizenship verification
04:12procedures.
04:13On top of this, as the federal government moves to directly verify each state's voter
04:16rolls, there is a clash in the U.S. between those who argue that election security needs
04:19to be strengthened and those who claim that the federal government is focusing too much
04:22on and excessively interfering with state election management.
04:25According to a recent Reuters report, the Trump administration has been pursuing lawsuits
04:29to obtain detailed voter rolls from several states, but the courts have repeatedly blocked
04:32these efforts.
04:33Therefore, the current debate in the United States is a mix of two issues, whether large-scale
04:37election fraud actually occurred, and how to prevent administrative errors that exist
04:41in the election system.
04:42Those who support President Trump argue that, since actual errors have been confirmed in
04:45the New Jersey case, citizenship verification and identity checks should be strengthened.
04:49On the other hand, opponents argue that just because some registration errors have been
04:52found, it does not mean that the entire U.S. election system is being widely manipulated.
04:56As these conflicting claims clash, and with President Trump even mentioning the possibility
05:00of a national emergency, political tensions in the U.S. surrounding the November midterm
05:05elections are rising even higher.
05:06And we also need to take a look at the SAVE Act.
05:08Many people think that in the U.S., they hand out ballots without checking IDs, but it's
05:13not that they don't check IDs.
05:15In the U.S., election rules differ by state.
05:17Some states require a photo ID, while others don't require an ID at all.
05:21In those states, there are separate identity verification procedures, and as long as you pass those,
05:25you can vote.
05:26The main purpose of the SAVE Act is to unify the different identity verification standards
05:30of each state at the federal level with stronger regulations.
05:32However, public opinion on this is very divided.
05:34Reporters of the SAVE Act argue that, as in the case of New Jersey, there have been instances
05:38where people without citizenship were mistakenly registered on voter rolls and even actually
05:41voted.
05:42Because of this, they insist that there is a need to more strongly unify the different
05:44voter verification procedures across states.
05:46The Republican Party believes that by verifying citizenship at the voter registration stage
05:50and checking identity during the voting process, it is possible to reduce the chances of non-citizens
05:55voting or people voting using someone else's identity.
05:57In particular, their logic is that even a single vote cast by an ineligible person must
06:01be prevented in order to maintain public trust in the election results.
06:03There is also a political aspect to this.
06:05The Republican Party and President Trump are emphasizing the principle that only American
06:09citizens should vote in U.S. elections, making the SAVE Act a key agenda item.
06:13This issue can rally the MAGUS reporters because it simultaneously touches on election security
06:17and illegal immigration, both of which are important to conservative voters.
06:21In particular, President Trump has continuously raised doubts about the election process, so
06:25the argument for stricter voter identification aligns with his political message.
06:29On the other hand, opponents are pointing out completely different issues.
06:32Democrats and civic groups argue that if ID and citizenship-proof requirements are strengthened,
06:36American citizens who are actually eligible to vote could face unnecessary obstacles in
06:40the voting process.
06:41In particular, there may be people among low-income or elderly groups who have difficulty obtaining
06:45necessary documents like a passport or birth certificate, and even if they have a common
06:49ID like a driver's license, they could be required to provide additional documents
06:52to prove their citizenship.
06:53There is also the issue of names and personal information not matching.
06:57In the United States, there are quite a few people who have changed their last name after
07:00marriage or divorce, or who have gone through a name change process in the past.
07:03If the name registered on the voter list is different from the name on the citizenship documents,
07:07additional verification procedures may be required, and there are concerns that eligible voters
07:11could face difficulties due to administrative issues during this process.
07:14And there are claims that people who have the right to vote might not be able to exercise
07:17their voting rights because of these administrative procedures.
07:19Another key issue is the federal government's access to personal information.
07:22If the SAVE Act is implemented, the federal government could obtain voter information that
07:26has been managed by state governments, and the process of cross-checking this data with
07:29the Department of Homeland Security's records could be expanded.
07:31Opponents are concerned that if the federal government checks not only names and addresses, but also
07:35citizenship-related information on a large scale, it could lead to privacy issues.
07:40Actually, South Korea is somewhat unique in this regard, since every citizen is assigned a resident
07:43registration number.
07:44However, in the United States, even just collecting this kind of information often faces strong
07:48opposition.
07:49For now, that's why there's still no conclusion regarding the SAVE Act!
07:52However, since President Trump has hinted at declaring a national emergency if the SAVE
07:55Act doesn't pass before the midterm elections, I think American politics could become quite
07:58chaotic going forward.
07:59And now comes the important part.
08:01The Senate will reopen on September 14th.
08:03At that time, it will be decided whether the SAVE Act will move forward again or if another
08:06measure, as President Trump mentioned, will actually come into play.
08:09There isn't much time left until the U.S. midterm elections.
08:11If the controversy surrounding the election expands into a national security issue, the
08:14United States could see a situation where the White House, state governments, Congress,
08:17and the courts all clash simultaneously over election management authority.
08:20All right, take place and seepare!
08:20Thanks everybody!戰eroid.
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