I am not a pundit. I am not a commentator. I am not a former anything trying to convince you I still know what is happening today.

I don't write to you as someone who once worked at the highest level of politics or argued important cases in court and is now offering insight from the sidelines.

I am still in the game. I am a practicing lawyer advising campaigns and litigating cases in court.

So this isn't a pitch from a media personality. It's a request from a lawyer on the front lines, working all hours to protect democracy.

I built Democracy Docket to serve that same cause in a different way — an accessible place to lay out what is happening in the fight for free and fair elections, and why.

A year ago, when I said that Donald Trump would try to build a national voter file to disenfranchise voters, it was not speculation. When I said the voter roll cases would be the most important of the midterms, I wasn't hypothesizing — I was describing the reality that led my law firm to litigate 30 cases against the Department of Justice on this one subject.

In retrospect, this looks like a smart decision. The DOJ is 0-21 in its effort to access sensitive voter data so far. My law firm is undefeated. But this doesn't mean the threat is over. It just means it is shifting to other tactics.

Candidly, all of this makes my life complicated.

I work around the clock and still find myself short on time. Balancing litigation with writing, podcasts and newsletters is exhausting — and it's harder than it should be.

Social media algorithms and chatbots make it difficult to get discovered over the din of AI slop and pop-up experts. It's especially hard when you aren't on Substack, which has become an algorithmic site built on overlapping referrals and frictionless sign-ups.

That means our growth depends on readers like you, not on a platform doing the work for us.

I am not complaining. I am proud that Democracy Docket has built a loyal community of nearly 500,000 subscribers and 70,000 premium members, and that the vast majority of our content remains free to all.

But we are now less than 90 days from the most important midterm elections of our lifetimes. Meeting this moment means more reporting, more legal analysis, and more capacity to cover the cases that matter — and that takes resources.

That is why I am asking you directly to upgrade to become a premium member, if you can afford to do so.

If you do, here is what I can promise you: we do not sell your email address, and we do not send you spam or try to sell you things you don't want.

We will never bow down to Trump. We will always give you the best, most direct information we can about what is happening to free and fair elections and democracy.

I hope this convinces you. But either way, thank you for being a loyal member of the Democracy Docket community.