Inside Trump’s ‘desperate’ plan to blackmail states into purging voters

• Secretaries of state are condemning the Trump administration’s latest attempt to exert control over elections by withholding homeland security funds from states unless they adopt draconian changes to their election procedures.
  
  
• “Trump is trying to meddle in how states run American elections because he’s terrified of losing power after the 2026 midterms,” Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows (D) said.

➤ Why Trump’s plan is ‘likely illegal’

GOP lawmakers and Elon Musk launch racist attack on judge who blocked Trump’s voter purge scheme

• Republican elected officials and the richest man in the world were among those who embraced rank nativism following a federal district judge’s decision to block the Trump administration’s dangerous scheme to purge suspected noncitizens from voting rolls.
  
  
• Remarks attacking the judge, who was born in Trinidad and Tobago, by Musk, Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.), Rep. Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.) and others were echoed by MAGA influencers.

➤ More on their xenophobic comments

America’s redistricting landscape resembles a wildfire after Trump and the Supreme Court went scorched earth

• Conservatives have radically transformed America’s system of electoral redistricting into a virtually unrecognizable terrain, in which states have free rein to draw lines for partisan advantage and to target minorities.
  
  
• The nationwide GOP efforts, and some Democratic states responding in kind, are a disaster for elections. The effects of the redistricting war will stretch far beyond the partisan makeup of Congress after the November elections, as Democracy Docket’s Jen Rice writes.

➤ Why the gerrymandering battle changes our political reality

‘Do me a favor’: Trump says he directed DOJ to investigate California elections

• The president’s most recent remarks are the clearest evidence yet of his weaponization of the department to interfere in elections.
  
  
• He said he told the top federal prosecutor in central California to “take a look” into the state’s election because he feared that Steve Hilton, his endorsed candidate, was at risk of not advancing to the general election in November.

➤ More on Trump’s admission

RNC sues Nebraska in latest bid to disenfranchise U.S. citizens living abroad

• The lawsuit challenges a Nebraska law that allows U.S. citizens living overseas to vote in the state if they have never lived in the U.S., are not registered in another state and have a parent registered to vote in Nebraska.

➤ The latest on the GOP targeting eligible voters abroad

Ohio advocates demand governor veto ‘confusing, misguided’ mail voting restrictions

• The Ohio Voter Rights Coalition, a network of pro-voting groups, argue the restrictive measure — that would go into effect for the 2027 elections — will make it harder for Ohioans to vote.
  
  
• The bill would require voters to verify their identity by sending a copy of their ID to the Ohio Secretary of State’s office to get a mail ballot or an application for an absentee ballot.

➤ More on Ohio’s restrictive bill

Trump's voter data obsession is more dangerous than you think

• In a new video, Marc breaks down why Trump's voter data obsession isn't just a PR stunt — it's about building a national voter list the White House controls and using it to decide who gets to vote in 2026.

➤ Watch Marc’s latest video

Here we share noteworthy briefs on all things voting rights and democracy. Have a footnote for us? Send it to newsletters@democracydocket.com

• According to new research, the baby name “Donald” has reached its lowest point of popularity in U.S. history. Can’t imagine why!
  
  
• Another day, another update on the Reflecting Pool drama. This morning, Trump claimed there was a “350-foot gash, made by a very sharp knife or razors” in the pool. However, reporters checked and found “no sign” of the gash the president wrote about.
  
  
• Trump once again flirted with his unconstitutional dreams of running for a third term, telling a crowd: “Maybe we should run again. Should we run one more time? I'd like to do that.”