The Election Deniers in Trump’s Ear

O f all the outside advisers urging President Trump to seize control of federal elections this fall, the attorney Peter Ticktin can claim the deepest ties; the two men went to military school together as teenagers.

In 2022, Ticktin helped Trump sue Hillary Clinton.

This year, he pushed Trump to secure a pardon for Tina Peters , a former Colorado clerk convicted of charges related to tampering with election equipment.

Which is why it might be worth listening when Ticktin says that Trump could do something soon to take over elections.

“He’s the only one that I know for sure has the understanding of the severity of it,” Ticktin told us this month before taking the stage at an election-skeptic conference in Las Vegas.

The way Ticktin sees it, there are three possible outcomes this fall.

The first—a smooth election—won’t happen in his view because, he claims without evidence, Democrats already cheated in the primaries.

The second is that Trump takes action before the election to prevent cheating.

The last option is that Trump tries to declare martial law on or around November 3.

“Either martial law, or step aside,” he told us about Trump’s choices in the last scenario.

When we asked about the prospect of riots if Trump tries to overturn the election results, Ticktin said he was not concerned.

“Believe me, our armed forces are a lot bigger than they are,” he said.

Trump has already tried to claim greater federal control over elections, which under the Constitution are administered primarily at the state and local level.

In February, he said Republicans should nationalize voting in at least 15 places.