ab ovo

The election-interference emergency is continued an eighth time

31 August 2026

A notice signed 31 August 2026 and published on 2 September at 91 FR 56547 continues “for 1 year the national emergency declared in Executive Order 13848 with respect to the threat of foreign interference in or undermining public confidence in United States elections.”1 Executive Order 13848 of 12 September 2018 had declared that emergency under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, the National Emergencies Act, section 212(f) of the Immigration and Nationality Act and 3 U.S.C. § 301.2 The notice states that the emergency “must continue in effect beyond September 12, 2026” and cites section 202(d) of the National Emergencies Act.13 It is the eighth annual continuation; the Federal Register carries one for each year from 2019 through 2026.4

  1. What the notice carries forward is a timetable that starts after the November election. Section 1(a) of Executive Order 13848 requires the Director of National Intelligence, “[n]ot later than 45 days after the conclusion of a United States election,” to assess any information indicating that a foreign government or its agent “acted with the intent or purpose of interfering in that election.”2 Section 1(b) then gives the Attorney General and the Secretary of Homeland Security 45 days from receiving that assessment to deliver a report on whether interference “materially affected the security or integrity” of election infrastructure, the tabulation of votes, or the timely transmission of results.2 The order does not define “conclusion,” so the outer edge of the first window is 18 December 2026 if the clock runs from election day, 3 November.25

  2. At the sanctions step the verb is “shall.” Section 3(a) directs that the Secretary of the Treasury “shall review” both documents and “impose all appropriate sanctions pursuant to section 2(a),” which blocks the property of any foreign person determined to have “directly or indirectly engaged in, sponsored, concealed, or otherwise been complicit in foreign interference in a United States election.”2 Section 3(b) requires State and Treasury to recommend whether more is warranted, and sets a floor on the recommendation’s reach: “the largest business entities licensed or domiciled in a country whose government authorized, directed, sponsored, or supported election interference, including at least one entity from each of the following sectors: financial services, defense, energy, technology, and transportation.”2

  3. The renewal is the step another emergency of the same kind missed five days earlier. Under 50 U.S.C. § 1622(d) a national emergency terminates on its anniversary unless the President publishes a notice in the Federal Register and transmits it to Congress within the preceding 90 days.3 This notice was published ten days before the 12 September anniversary.1 The bulk-power system emergency declared under the same statutes on 1 May 2020 received no such notice and terminated on 1 May 2021, and on 26 August 2026 the President declared a fresh one rather than reviving it (see A bulk-power emergency is declared again, five years on).6

Footnotes

  1. Notice of 31 August 2026, “Continuation of the National Emergency With Respect to Foreign Interference in or Undermining Public Confidence in United States Elections,” 91 FR 56547 (published 2 September 2026), FR Doc. 2026-18046. “For this reason, the national emergency declared on September 12, 2018, must continue in effect beyond September 12, 2026. Therefore, in accordance with section 202(d) of the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1622(d)), I am continuing for 1 year the national emergency declared in Executive Order 13848.” The notice adds no new finding beyond restating the 2018 threat description, and closes: “This notice shall be published in the Federal Register and transmitted to the Congress.” https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/09/02/2026-18046/continuation-of-the-national-emergency-with-respect-to-foreign-interference-in-or-undermining-public ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  2. Executive Order 13848 of 12 September 2018, “Imposing Certain Sanctions in the Event of Foreign Interference in a United States Election,” 83 FR 46843–46846 (published 14 September 2018), FR Doc. 2018-20203. Preamble (authorities, including 8 U.S.C. 1182(f); the finding, qualified by “[a]lthough there has been no evidence of a foreign power altering the outcome or vote tabulation in any United States election”); § 1(a) (the 45-day DNI assessment, its required contents and its distribution to the President and five secretaries); § 1(b) (the 45-day Attorney General and Homeland Security report, and its two evaluation questions); § 1(c) (amendment of both if relevant information emerges later); § 2(a)(i)–(iii) (the blocking criteria); § 2(b) (Executive Order 13694 of 1 April 2015, as amended by Executive Order 13757, “remains in effect”); § 3(a) (“impose all appropriate sanctions”); § 3(b) (the joint recommendation, the named sectors, and the nine measures at (i)–(ix), among them “exclusion of a person’s alien corporate officers from the United States”); § 4 (donations prohibited under 50 U.S.C. 1702(b)(2)). https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2018/09/14/2018-20203/imposing-certain-sanctions-in-the-event-of-foreign-interference-in-a-united-states-election ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6

  3. National Emergencies Act § 202(d), 50 U.S.C. § 1622(d): a national emergency “shall terminate on the anniversary of the declaration of that emergency if, within the ninety-day period prior to each anniversary date, the President does not publish in the Federal Register and transmit to the Congress a notice stating that such emergency is to continue in effect after such anniversary.” https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title50-section1622&edition=prelim ↩ ↩2

  4. Federal Register presidential documents matching “13848”: the order itself of 14 September 2018 and continuation notices published 11 September 2019, 11 September 2020, 9 September 2021, 9 September 2022, 11 September 2023, 11 September 2024, 3 September 2025 and 2 September 2026 — eight continuations in all. https://www.federalregister.gov/presidential-documents/notices ↩

  5. 2 U.S.C. § 7 fixes the election of Representatives on “the Tuesday next after the 1st Monday in November,” which in 2026 falls on 3 November. The Postal Service’s system of records for federal ballot mail, published 1 September 2026, refers to “the November 3, 2026 election.” https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title2-section7&edition=prelim ↩

  6. Executive Order 14421 of 26 August 2026, “Declaring a National Emergency To Secure the United States Bulk-Power System,” 91 FR 55995 (published 31 August 2026). Executive Order 13920 of 1 May 2020, 85 FR 26595, declared the earlier bulk-power emergency; no continuation notice for it appears in the Federal Register. https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/08/31/2026-17843/declaring-a-national-emergency-to-secure-the-united-states-bulk-power-system ↩

electionsexecutive-actionieepa