Many Americans’ lives have not changed. They wake up, they go to work, they come home, they eat dinner, they spend time with their families and friends. For others, their lives have drastically changed. Their family members have been detained, national guard troops march through their neighborhoods, their voting power has been diluted.

This is the “dual state” that Ernst Fraenkel — a Jewish labor lawyer who fled from Nazi Germany — wrote about. As he observed, the dictatorship didn’t rise overnight. The laws and foundation of the Weimar Republic were slowly eroded over time, with just enough normalcy that citizens were comfortably able to turn a blind eye.

For those in the “normative state,” life was the same. For those in the “prerogative state,” it was a living nightmare.

This is a familiar sentiment for far too many Americans. Under the Trump administration, the United States is functioning as a dual state. The most obvious example is immigrant communities that are targeted by ICE agents. But there is another way that Republicans are weaponizing the dual state: voting rights.

While some voters will go to the polls without issue in 2026, that will not be the case for all Americans. This has actually been the case for years — and the Trump administration is exacerbating the problem.

Voters in majority-Black communities are met with long lines. They wait for hours. In some cases, they are not even allowed to have food or water. In white communities, voters walk straight to the voting booth without issue.

For students, voting is made difficult. They can’t use their state-issued student ID for registration and they struggle to prove their residency. For older voters, they meet no barrier to entry.

While the Supreme Court will move at a snail’s pace to allow fairer maps for Black voters and Democrats, it will move quickly to remedy issues for white voters and the GOP.

Those are just a few examples, and Republicans are making things worse every day. As GOP legislatures break up Black-majority districts, polling places are changing and voices are being diluted. Meanwhile, many white voters are comfortably unaffected by the changes. In fact, their vote holds more power and their voice is even stronger.

In America, voting is a breeze for some. It is a patriotic duty that they proudly participate in every year. It’s an exciting experience — as it should be! However, for others — particularly young people and voters of color — voting is a headache. It’s tedious and takes hours. Just when you think you’re registered, you need to prove your identity again. Just when you think you’re at the front of the line to vote, you find out your polling place has been changed.

This is not a just system. This is a dual state — working for some, but not all. Don’t be mistaken: that is not an accident. It is deliberate.

What worried me this week

All eyes are on redistricting — and mine are, too. But we cannot afford to lose sight of other election subversion tactics. Whether it’s constitutional or not — and it’s not — the administration is moving forward with Trump’s anti-voting executive order.

New reporting revealed that, despite a barrage of lawsuits, the White House is quietly building its national voter database ahead of the midterms. The list will determine who receives a mail-in ballot, the administration hopes, with the Department of Homeland Security working with the Social Security Administration and the U.S. Postal Service to decide voters’ fates.

In related news, we also got more evidence that the administration is probing Wisconsin’s 2020 election. The Badger State joins Georgia, Arizona and Michigan on the list of states where, despite the evidence, Trump is still trying to cast doubt on the result — and create grounds to undermine a fair vote this fall.

The twin developments are a harsh reminder of the challenges we must face ahead of the 2026 elections. While the redistricting wars rage on, the Trump administration hasn’t stopped fighting on other election subversion battlefronts. I am worried — but I am ready to fight for mail-in voting, and for elections that are free from Trump’s interference.

What I’m watching in the courts

What gave me hope this week

It’s hard to feel hopeful in times like this, but a victory certainly helps. Last year, my law firm sued to block a Montana law that would have reduced Election Day registration to only five hours in the state — from the time polls open to noon. Earlier this week, a state court temporarily blocked the law as our case proceeds in court.

This is a significant win for Montana voters — and it’s also a reminder. Every voter suppression law — no matter how minor or what state it’s in — must be challenged. In the fight for free and fair elections, we cannot leave any stone unturned. Every vote makes a difference. Every voter deserves to have their voice heard. And every victory gives us hope and energy to fight another day.