I planned to write to you this morning about the risk posed by the Department of Justice’s last-minute decision to send federal monitors to observe voting in several California and New Jersey counties next week. But as I was finishing up my thoughts yesterday, Donald Trump made a new direct threat to free and fair elections, and I felt inspired to write about it for today. 

So, here it is — I'll be in your inbox again later with the piece about Trump’s latest intimidation tactics ahead of Election Day.

Donald Trump is never moving on from the 2020 election. And now, he’s planning to get revenge in 2026. 

In a Truth Social post on Sunday, the president of the United States accused Democrats of “cheating on elections,” falsely claimed that the 2020 election was “rigged and stolen” and asserted that the upcoming California referendum election is “totally dishonest.” Calling the 2020 election the “biggest SCANDAL in American history,” he instructed his Department of Justice to pursue it with “gusto.”

Yet that wasn’t the worst of it.

In his social media post, Donald Trump dramatically expanded his attacks on the 2026 elections. Trump has previously attacked vote-by-mail systems and voting machines while promoting universal voter ID requirements. Yesterday, he added early in-person voting to the list of options he wants banned.

As we head toward 2026, Trump is laying the groundwork to limit voting to in-person Election Day only. He will attempt to use the power of his office to curtail voting by mail and early voting. If that fails — as it will — he is certain to encourage Republican-controlled states to change their laws to accomplish this goal.

Wherever voting by mail and early voting remain — and Democrats win — he will make baseless claims of fraud and irregularities. He will encourage Republican election officials to refuse to certify election results. He may even goad Republicans in Congress to refuse to seat Democrats.

Underlying all these efforts will be a corrupt Department of Justice willing to do Trump’s bidding. Pam Bondi, a loyal election denier in the aftermath of the 2020 election, has proven to be a sycophantic attorney general. She has staffed the DOJ — including the Voting Rights Section — with Trump loyalists and anti-voting zealots.

Make no mistake: this DOJ — Trump’s DOJ — will do whatever he deems necessary to prevent Democratic candidates from winning in 2026. But it will not be Trump’s only weapon to subvert democracy.

Trump controls the Republican Party’s well-funded voter suppression machine, and even as we focus on other matters, it continues grinding away against free and fair elections. When Trump decided to wage war on congressional maps, the GOP provided the muscle to get it done in states like Texas, Missouri, and North Carolina.

The GOP’s role extends into the courtroom as well. This December, I will argue before the Supreme Court against the Republican Party’s effort to weaken our campaign finance laws. We are also awaiting word on whether the Court will take up a separate case initially brought by the RNC — one that could have profound effects on voting by mail and potentially on early voting as well.

On its face, the case concerns whether states can count mail-in ballots cast by voters before Election Day but received afterward due to postal delays. Nineteen states, including Mississippi, currently permit these ballots to be included in election results. The RNC sued Mississippi to ban this practice.

The GOP’s position is that federal law sets an official Election Day and therefore ballots not received by that day cannot count. That same rationale, however, could eventually be extended to ballots cast before that day. The effect would be to ban all mail-in and early voting — exactly what Trump is now publicly advocating.

For now, this remains a fringe position beyond what even the Republican Party is advocating in court. But does anyone doubt they would adopt this position if told to do so by Trump?

There are no coincidences in politics. Trump’s opposition to free and fair elections has corrupted his party and his administration from top to bottom. Election denialism is the glue that holds the various MAGA factions together. The threats to democracy are clear to anyone paying attention.

Which brings me to my question: Where is the outrage?

Donald Trump is laying the groundwork to cripple our ability to hold free and fair elections. He is using the power of the state to corrupt the process. His administration and his party are working every day to undermine voting rights.

Worse, they are not hiding the ball. Trump is posting his plan on social media for all the world to see. Republicans are litigating it across the country. The DOJ is acting with impunity.

Yet too many in the legacy media avert their eyes and normalize the corruption. Large law firms remain silent and unwilling to help. Too many who should know better act as if they don’t.

For those of us willing to speak out, we must be louder. For those willing to litigate, we must bring more cases. For all of us committed to free and fair elections, we must be braver and more determined than ever. Only then will we have a chance to avert the crisis of democracy that Trump seeks to create.

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