The Trump administration is facing growing concern over its moves on US elections. Critics say the moves may help create a case for a national emergency before the November midterm elections. President Donald Trump has often questioned the safety of US elections. He has also repeated false claims that the 2020 election was stolen from him. In July, Trump used a TV speech to warn about foreign threats to US elections. He again raised doubts about the 2020 vote, which he lost to Joe Biden. The speech led some Trump allies to predict a major move. Steve Bannon, a former Trump aide, said Trump could declare a national security emergency linked to the midterms. Bannon made the claim on his podcast in late July. He said the move could come before the end of August. Trump has not said that he will declare such an emergency. But he also did not reject the idea when asked about it earlier this month. Legal experts say a national emergency would not give the president unlimited power over elections. The US Constitution gives states a key role in running elections. No US president has used a national emergency to take control of election work in this way. Any such move would likely face legal challenges. Aria Branch, a lawyer who has challenged Trump election orders, said the administration may be trying to build a case for more federal power. She said the White House may be looking for a legal reason to act before the midterms. She also said the US has no broad problem with noncitizens voting. Democrats and voting groups are preparing for possible problems before the election. Some groups are studying risks such as false videos, voter fear and federal action near polling places. The White House has also released a series of election reports this summer. The reports came from a task force with members from several federal security agencies. Some documents discussed voting system risks and possible foreign efforts to affect election data. Some of the material was already known before the new releases. The reports have also focused on claims about noncitizen voting. Officials have used several cases to argue that more federal checks are needed. One case involved New Jersey. State officials said about 6,600 noncitizens had been registered because of a software error. Fewer than 400 of those people voted. The case was then used by Trump and his allies to support wider claims about noncitizens on voter lists. The Department of Homeland Security later said the case showed a need for stronger federal oversight. Voting experts disputed that view. The US Census Bureau also released a report that said it had found about 24,000 possible noncitizen voters in the 2020 election. The finding came from a large data match. Election experts questioned the method behind the number. They said the report did not give enough detail to show how the figure was reached. Another federal report claimed that about 278,000 noncitizens were registered for federal elections. The report did not fully explain how officials identified those people. Experts also noted problems with tools used to check voter records. They said such tools can wrongly flag US citizens. The Trump administration has backed the Save America Act. The bill would give the federal government more power to check state voter lists. The plan would also limit some forms of mail voting. It would require proof of citizenship for voter registration and set tighter rules for voter ID. The White House says the plan would help protect elections. Critics say it could reduce access to voting and give the federal government too much control. The debate has added to fears about the Trump election emergency plan. Critics say repeated claims about fraud could weaken trust in election results. They also warn that a national emergency could create a major fight over the role of the president in election work. For now, Trump has not announced an election emergency. The administration has also not confirmed that it plans to take control of election systems. The midterm elections are expected to bring more attention to the issue. State officials, voting groups and legal experts are watching the White House for its next move.