President Donald Trump's recent statements on a podcast about nationalizing elections prompted backlash from many Americans.

The president claimed Democrats allowed immigrants into the country illegally to use as voting power. He doubled down the day after during a news conference saying, “I want to see elections be honest, and if a state can't run an election, I think the people behind me should do something about it."

The U.S. Constitution gives states power over elections.

When reporters asked White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt what the president meant on the podcast, she said he was referring to the SAVE Act, which would make voters show proof of citizenship status at polling locations.

Leavitt said “The president believes in the United States. However, he believes there has obviously been a lot of fraud and irregularities that have taken place in American elections.”

When asked if there was constitutional way for the president or federal government to take over running elections, Dr. Jean Harris, a political science professor at the University, said “The president can approve or reject the Legislature, but he can’t use executive orders like he has been doing because it’s not in the Constitution either”

The president made his claims about elections on on a podcast with former FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino. He said he wants to nationalize voting due to concerns about voter fraud. The president lost the 2020 election to President Joe Biden and claim there were illegal votes, a miscount, or tampering with ballots.

The president claims election fraud in Georgia led to him losing the presidency, even though there has been no evidence.

What does the president mean by nationalizing the election? He wants to centralize voting for 15 states that he claims are untrustworthy.

Many young voters are college students. Nationalizing voting could make it more difficult for young adults who go to college in a different state to vote. The University holds classes on Election Day, and students cannot have a car on campus until junior year, making it difficult for students to return home to vote.

Some say nationalizing elections is unconstitutional and will cater to Republican voters; others think it will make elections fairer.

Freshman political science major Matthew McNichol said, “I can see the logic to both sides of the argument, and I think that more transparency is possible without rewriting the Constitution.”