Trump Can't Run On His Record, So He's Trying To Rig The Rules Before Voters Can Hold Him Accountable

Politico - Trump’s Affordability Crisis Is About To Hit A New Level

NBC - Trump Administration Asks Supreme Court To Allow Mail Ballot Restrictions To Move Forward For A Third Time

NYT - Democrats Prepare For Possible Election Clashes With Federal Government

[WATCH]

Donald Trump knows Republicans are in trouble this November because they have made life harder and more expensive for American families. Instead of changing course, he is trying to rig the rules of the 2026 midterms while sowing doubt about election security—all before a single ballot is cast. His lies and conspiracy theories about the 2020 election don’t change the facts: the 2020 election was free and fair, confirmed by numerous audits, recounts, courts, and election officials from both parties. A president who starts discrediting an election months before voting begins is telling you one thing: he fears the voters.

President Trump and Republicans have sent prices for food, fuel, housing, and health care skyrocketing with their reckless war and failed agenda. Instead of working to bring down costs and rein in corruption, they’ve turned their focus to rigging the upcoming midterms — deploying DHS and USPS to restrict voting by mail, demanding states hand over sensitive and confidential voter data, and threatening nonpartisan election officials with prison time. Trump’s DOJ has filed more than 30 lawsuits against states for refusing to turn over private voter data, but the vast majority have already been dismissed as federal courts from Arizona to Maine rule that Trump’s overreach is unconstitutional and violates states’ rights.

Senate Democrats are preparing for any and all threats to undermine the midterms. They have unveiled their Election Protection Task Force, which has been working around the clock to prepare for potential efforts by Trump to rig or deny the results of the 2026 midterms and to protect the right of every eligible American to cast their ballot. Senate Democrats have also unveiled their new Election Observer Program to ensure that all elections in every state are conducted fairly.

BOTTOM LINE: Elections belong to the people, not the president. Democrats are fighting to make sure it stays that way.

[WATCH]

Americans are fed up with Trump and Republicans’ record of higher costs, endless chaos, and rampant corruption:

Fox News - Record gas prices squeeze Americans as summer travel season ends, midterms loom and Iran war wages on. “As the summer travel season came to a close, Americans faced the most expensive Labor Day at the pump on record, extending the squeeze on household budgets for millions who hit the road over the holiday weekend.” [Fox, 9/9/26]

New York Times - As Midterms Approach, Republicans Find There Is No Escape From Trump. “As Republicans work to distance themselves from the president’s unpopular decisions, Mr. Trump is headlining a splashy convention in Dallas this week and has said that voters should ‘pretend, please, that I’m on the ballot.’” [NYT, 9/6/26]

Politico - Trump’s affordability crisis is about to hit a new level. “’Clearly not an advantage for us,’ Rep. Pete Sessions (R-Texas) told POLITICO when asked about the effects of higher interest rates. ‘The war has not been helpful to the price of gasoline, nor a number of other factors. So, are [voters] going to hold us accountable? I think it’s entirely possible that that could be a factor that is not in our advantage.’” [Politico, 9/2/26]

Politico - The Republican Party’s Midterm Nightmare Is Taking Shape. “He’s in serious trouble in farm country,” Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) told me. ‘He being Trump — and Trump is us. I’m not very optimistic.’” [Politico, 8/30/26]

CNBC - Republicans are dismissing affordability. That could be a problem in November. “President Donald Trump, in an interview Wednesday, said the word ‘affordability’ was ‘devised’ by Democrats to disparage him…. Voters are also loud and clear that affordability is their top concern in this election. Respondents to CNBC’s most recent All-America Economic Survey said the cost of food and groceries was voters’ top concern, and Democrats held a 7 percentage point lead on handling that issue.” [CNBC, 8/26/26]

So, Trump is escalating his efforts to rig the rules and sow distrust in our election system:

CNN - Trump asks Supreme Court to revive controversial system used for voter purges. “President Donald Trump asked the Supreme Court on Tuesday to reinstate a controversial citizenship records system his administration has sought to wield for sweeping reviews of state voter rolls.” [CNN, 9/8/26 ]

NBC - Trump administration asks Supreme Court to allow mail ballot restrictions to move forward for a third time. “The Trump administration Sunday asked the Supreme Court to temporarily allow the U.S. Postal Service to exert some control over mail-in voting in the upcoming midterm elections, just two days after a federal judge blocked the USPS from doing so.“ [NBC, 9/6/26]

Reuters - Whistleblower says USPS mail-in voting restrictions could discard thousands of legal ballots. “A whistleblower told Congress that the U.S. Postal Service is moving forward with plans to restrict mail-in voting that could result in thousands of legitimate ballots being discarded. Senator Richard Blumenthal asked U.S. Postmaster General David Steiner to answer questions and provide documents on the claims detailing "USPS’ seemingly illegal plot to interfere in November’s midterms. Their system is set up to fail – and risk the right to vote for millions of Americans who cast their ballots by mail." [Reuters, 9/1/26]

CNN - DHS plans to launch voter fraud investigation surge Tuesday. “Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin has accelerated efforts to make the department a central force in President Donald Trump’s hunt for purported widespread election fraud. DHS has pushed states to share their voter rolls for audit and has vowed to withhold grant funding from those that refuse to adopt a broader set of election reforms.” [CNN, 8/31/26]

Washington Post - Lawyers gear up as Trump administration threatens election officials with arrest. “Private voting rights attorneys and Democratic attorneys general are preparing to defend election officials and file lawsuits against the federal government.” [WaPo, 8/26/26]

New York Times - Trump’s Homeland Security Chief Threatens Election Officials With Prison Time. “Markwayne Mullin reiterated the president’s false claims about voting security while escalating the administration’s legally questionable attempts to control state elections.” [NYT, 7/17/26]

Reuters - Trump administration ties states' anti-terrorism grants to election security. “The U.S. Department of Homeland Security said on Friday that states must adopt "common-sense election security measures" to receive certain funds from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. To qualify for three grant programs related to preparing for terrorist attacks and other threats, states must use a federal system for verifying voters' citizenship and accept hand-marked paper ballots in elections, the DHS said.” [Reuters 7/10/26]

NBC - Trump ousts remaining members of the Election Assistance Commission ahead of midterms. “The Democratic commissioners — Thomas Hicks and Benjamin W. Hovland — were fired by email, two people familiar with their terminations said…‘They will be replaced,’ said a White House official who confirmed that all three commissioners are gone.” [NBC, 7/9/26]

NPR - Voting officials fear DHS may actually be a threat to elections this year. “Mullin's history of false election fraud claims has heightened concerns that voting officials have had for more than a year: that DHS will not be a partner helping to secure elections, but rather a threat seeking to undermine results that Trump dislikes.” [NPR, 6/16/26]

Senate Democrats are fighting back:

Oregon Public Broadcasting - Democrats demand Homeland Security officials fund election security ahead of midterms. “Sen. Alex Padilla of California and Rep. Joseph Morelle of New York authored a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin and the acting head of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), Nick Anderson, to demand they restore over $39.6 million in funds to a range of specific election security efforts as legislated in the fiscal year 2026 DHS Appropriations bill passed in April. NPR was provided an exclusive copy of the letter.” [OPB, 9/3/26]

NPR - Democrats demand Homeland Security officials fund election security ahead of midterms. “The Trump administration is unlikely to "repair trust with election officials" before the November elections. However, they say federal officials have an obligation to distribute funds to the information sharing center and to support local election security advisory positions in regions across the country.” [NPR, 9/3/26]

NPR - How Democrats in Congress are preparing for Trump midterm election interference. “Congressional Democrats are preparing for a new kind of midterm challenge: the risk that President Trump will attempt to undermine November’s elections by claiming fraud or interfering in the voting process.” [NPR, 8/28/26]

Los Angeles Times - Will Trump interfere in the midterms? Democrats and their allies are preparing. “‘We are taking this threat really seriously,” said Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), who helped form a Senate task force to prepare. ‘Politically, I’m very optimistic about the midterms. But I’m also deeply concerned with the president’s willingness to interfere with them — and the fact that, unlike even in 2020, where there were at least some people around him to try to constrain what he was doing, all those people are gone.’” [LA Times, 8/23/26]

The Guardian - Top Democrats simulate election threats as Trump continues assault on voting. “Chuck Schumer, the US Senate minority leader, and senators including Alex Padilla, Adam Schiff, Mark Warner, Elissa Slotkin and Raphael Warnock were among those in the room as a team of legal experts offered scenarios.” [The Guardian, 8/9/26]

New York Times – Democrats Prepare for Possible Election Clashes With Federal Government. “Top officials overseeing state elections and law enforcement are stepping up plans to prepare for what they worry could be interference in the midterms.” [NYT, 7/24/26]

###