Trump's Blueprint to Rig the Midterms is Already in Motion

[11:35 AM]Less than two months before Election Day, Democracy Docket founder Marc Elias lays out Donald Trump's blueprint to rig the 2026 midterms. An executive order could put the U.S. Postal Service in charge of deciding whether mail-in ballots get delivered at all. The Department of Justice has lost 23 straight lawsuits trying to seize state voter data. A rule change could disenfranchise thousands of voters over a single mismatched name, and a Postal Service slowdown is already increasing ballot rejection rates in this year's primaries. DOJ's seizure of ballots in Fulton County and Maricopa County looks less like an isolated fight over 2020 and more like a dry run for something bigger. Federal law enforcement at the polls is no longer an abstract threat.

Marc Elias sits down with Skye Perryman, President and CEO of Democracy Forward, for a wide-ranging conversation on the state of democracy under the second Trump administration.

A bombshell whistleblower complaint, submitted to Sen. Richard Blumenthal's office, reveals that the U.S. Postal Service allegedly kept building a new system to restrict mail-in ballots even after federal courts ordered it to stop it. Democracy Docket founder Marc Elias breaks down the two major allegations: that USPS defied court orders while developing its new "Federal Ballot Mail Portal," and that the system is designed with a "zero percent failure rate" — meaning if just one ballot in a batch of thousands can't be verified, the entire batch gets rejected and sent back, potentially disenfranchising voters over a single mismatched name or address.

With just over 60 days until the midterms, Donald Trump is still trying to weaponize the U.S. Postal Service against mail-in voters. Democracy Docket founder Marc Elias breaks down the legal fight playing out in federal courts in Massachusetts and Washington, D.C., including a temporary restraining order that's now being appealed. He also reads directly from the Department of Justice's own court filings, in which lawyers compare mail-in ballots to overweight packages, cremated remains and fake bombs to justify blocking them.

The Department of Justice just made a major move to restore a U.S. Postal Service rule that could cripple mail-in voting in the 2026 midterms. Marc Elias, founder of Democracy Docket, walks through where this fast-moving litigation stands, how we got here and what's coming that you're not hearing about anywhere else.

In a major win for free and fair elections, a federal judge blocked the U.S. Postal Service from enforcing key parts of Donald Trump’s anti-mail voting order. In this episode, Democracy Docket founder Marc Elias breaks down Judge Indira Talwani’s critical ruling and reveals how it will impact the midterm elections. Plus, Marc explains why Trump’s refusal to accept the 2020 election results is at the heart of the battles we’re fighting today.

The Supreme Court just ruled that legal challenges to Donald Trump's anti-voting executive order were filed too soon, but the fight is just getting started. The U.S. Postal Service has since finalized a rule that could block your mail-in ballot unless your state hands over sensitive voter data to the federal government. In this episode, Democracy Docket's Marc Elias breaks down where the fight is headed next, from courts in Massachusetts and Washington, D.C., to another likely showdown at the Supreme Court, and why Trump's own side built the legal doctrines that could end up sinking the rule. Plus, what's at stake for the 2026 midterms if it isn't stopped. 

The Supreme Court has sided with the Trump administration, allowing its executive order targeting mail-in voting to move forward ahead of the 2026 midterms. In this episode, Democracy Docket founder Marc Elias breaks down the conservative majority’s ruling and their claim that the potential harm was "speculative." Plus, he calls out the major contradiction at the center of the case: while the court ruled the suit was premature, the Postal Service went ahead and finalized the very restrictions state officials warned about.

Just over 70 days before the midterms, Donald Trump's Postal Service quietly issued a final rule on mail-in voting late Friday night. Buried inside it, USPS compares your mail ballot to cremated human remains and fake explosives. Yes, you read that right. Democracy Docket founder Marc Elias breaks down how we got here and explains what happens next as the rule heads toward taking effect on August 26 and the fight continues at both the Supreme Court and in Massachusetts federal court. 

Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon just announced the Justice Department will deploy 1,000 election observers for the midterms. The DOJ wants you to think this is business as usual, but Democracy Docket founder Marc Elias breaks down why this deployment is anything but and how it's laying the groundwork for what comes after Election Day. Meanwhile, it's no surprise the announcement comes the same day the DOJ lost its 23rd straight court case over access to sensitive voter data. Plus, where are these 1,000 monitors actually coming from?