Broward Attorney Drafts Executive Order to Seize Midterm Elections Amid Unverified Claims of Chinese Hacking

In a move that has ignited a firestorm of legal and political controversy, Deerfield Beach attorney Peter Ticktin is reportedly behind a drafted executive order that would authorize President Donald Trump to seize control of the upcoming midterm elections. As first reported by The FloridaBulldog, the proposal hinges on unproven allegations that Chinese hackers are prepared to infiltrate and corrupt U.S. voting results, a claim that critics say lacks any evidentiary basis but serves as a pretext for unprecedented federal overreach.

The drafted order suggests that the president possesses inherent emergency powers to bypass state-run election infrastructure to ensure “election integrity.” However, legal scholars and constitutional experts have been quick to dismiss the maneuver as a radical departure from American law. “If he tries this, he will fail. There’s no constitutional basis for this,” stated Norm Eisen, a former White House ethics lawyer, in an interview cited by The FloridaBulldog.

A History of Legal Friction

Ticktin is no stranger to high-stakes, politically charged litigation. He currently represents Tina Peters, the former Colorado county clerk, who is serving a nine-year prison sentence for her role in tampering with election equipment. Ticktin has consistently characterized Peters as a “political prisoner,” aligning himself with the broader movement that continues to challenge the legitimacy of the 2020 presidential election.

His professional history in Florida, however, is marked by significant turbulence. According to The FloridaBulldog, Ticktin’s legal career began in Ontario, Canada, before he relocated to Florida in 1985. While his firm’s website boasts of “changing the law” in Canada, investigative reporting by the Bulldog in 2022 found those claims difficult to verify.

More concerning is Ticktin’s record with the Florida Bar. The Florida Supreme Court previously ordered a brief closure of his practice in 2009 following an ethics complaint that cited “poor professional judgment” and “misconduct unbecoming of a member of the Florida Bar.” A second Bar complaint led to another brief suspension. Despite these past disciplinary actions, Ticktin’s current Bar profile lists him as a “member in good standing”—a fact the Bulldog notes is common as older disciplinary records often fall out of public view on the Bar’s website.

The “Political Grievance” Doctrine

Ticktin’s recent involvement in the Trump v. Clinton racketeering lawsuit further illustrates his penchant for aggressive, fringe legal theories. In that case, U.S. District Judge Donald Middlebrooks dismissed the suit and slammed Ticktin and his co-counsel, including Alina Habba, with nearly $1 million in sanctions. Middlebrooks famously characterized the litigation as “political grievances masquerading as legal claims” and referred the attorneys to state disciplinary authorities.

Remarkably, Ticktin confirmed to The FloridaBulldog that the Florida Bar did not ultimately investigate him following Judge Middlebrooks’ referral. He defended his actions by suggesting there is a divide in the country between those who follow mainstream media and those who seek “alternative news.”

“The decision was political,” Ticktin previously told the Bulldog regarding the sanctions. “In the current environment, you’ve got two different kinds of people, those who believe what they see in the media and those who look at alternative news.”

The Shadow of 2026

The current push for an executive order to seize the elections comes as President Trump continues to claim that Democrats intend to “cheat” to win. Ticktin’s draft purportedly seeks to provide the president with the tools to prevent this, though the primary justification—the Chinese hacking threat—remains entirely unverified by U.S. intelligence agencies.

Ticktin remains undeterred by his previous losses in the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, believing that the U.S. Supreme Court would ultimately uphold the president’s “emergency powers.” He argues that the move is not about partisan gain but about security, even as the President himself frames the objective as helping Republicans.

Critics, however, see the hand of veteran provocateurs behind the scenes. Ticktin has been frequently linked to figures such as Steve Bannon, a conservative podcaster and strategist. Photos of the two together have circulated as Ticktin continues to advocate for a “seizure” of the electoral process that would essentially strip states of their constitutional authority to manage their own elections.

As the midterm elections approach, the emergence of this drafted executive order signals a deepening of the legal battles surrounding American democracy. For Ticktin, it is another chapter in a career defined by pushing the boundaries of the law; for his critics, it is a dangerous attempt to use the veneer of legal process to subvert the will of the voters. As The FloridaBulldog’s reporting suggests, the intersection of Broward County legal maneuvers and national executive power has rarely been this volatile.

Source: The FloridaBulldog