On this edition of Your Call’s Authoritarian Playbook Series, we discuss Trump’s plans to interfere in the 2026 midterms and what it will take to ensure you can vote and your vote will be counted.
On Monday, the Supreme Court rejected Trump’s planned restrictions on voting by mail, which would have forced states to enact new requirements that could have disenfranchised thousands, if not millions, of voters ahead of the midterms. Though this ruling marks a victory for blue states and voting rights advocates, Trump has continued his interference campaign by fighting to gain access to private voter data, purging voter rolls, and pledging to give US adults a $5,000 “dividend” if Republicans stay in power.
In a year marked by Republican attacks on elections and voting rights, advocates warn that the Trump administration could turn to other tactics to interfere with the midterms, including “sending ICE to the polls, seizing ballots, or declaring a fake national emergency,” according to reporting in Mother Jones.
How are Democrats and advocates responding?
Guests:
Ari Berman, national voting rights correspondent for Mother Jones, and author of Minority Rule: The Right-Wing Attack on the Will of the People—and the Fight to Resist It and Give Us the Ballot: The Modern Struggle for Voting Rights in America
David Daley, senior fellow at FairVote, leading expert on partisan gerrymandering and voting rights, and author of Antidemocratic: Inside the Right's 50-Year Plot to Control American Elections and Ratf**ked: Why Your Vote Doesn't Count
Resources:
Mother Jones: Supreme Court Blocks Trump’s Mail Ballot Scheme
Democracy Docket: Supreme Court rejects Trump bid to revive mail voting restrictions ahead of midterms, in huge win for voters
The Washington Post: Trump slams his own Supreme Court appointees over mail ballot ruling
The Guardian: Trump reiterates $5,000 ‘dividend’ pledge if Republicans win midterms
The Washington Post: DHS asks Supreme Court to let it use Social Security data to verify voter rolls
Reuters: Election officials prepare for chaos as Trump seeks to tilt the midterms to Republicans
The New York Times: With Trump’s Plans Blocked, States Work to Restore Trust in Mail Voting
Mother Jones: How Democrats Can Still Win the Redistricting War by 2028
