The past month has seen a barrage of election subversion stories that, taken individually, were alarming, but viewed together reveal a deeply disturbing new playbook emanating from the Trump administration ahead of the midterms. On this week's Amicus podcast, Dahlia Lithwick talked with election law gladiator Marc Elias, chair of Elias Law Group and founder of Democracy Docket. Their discussion, edited and condensed for clarity here, highlights a very clear pattern when it comes to Trump and voting: a project that seeks to normalize violence and to test drive the shattering of how elections are typically run. The work of the coming nine months? Keep a close eye on the encroaching lawlessness, don't normalize election subversion, and organize now to protect your friends and neighbors.
To be absolutely clear, neither Donald Trump's nor Bannon's proposals are remotely legal (or predicated on fact). The law prohibits intimidating voters where they are casting ballots - and it's hard to see how the presence of armed, masked agents from a paramilitary outfit that has shown no compunction at kidnapping and killing people would have any other purpose. And the Constitution gives states control over their own elections' processes,
I received an email recently that claims Wal-Mart senior management has been calling mandatory meetings for the company's employees in which the employees are told they "cannot" vote for the Obama-Biden ticket "or any other employee-friendly, union-friendly candidates for political office". It's not an urban legend, according to the sources I checked. This makes me so angry I just boil. When it comes to the Constitution, I am a rabid supporter.
The New York State Democratic Committee is bullying people into voting next week with intimidating letters warning that it can easily find out which slackers fail to cast a ballot. . . . It ends with a line better suited to a mob movie than a major political party: "If you do not vote this year, we will be interested to hear why not." -New York Post
On Tuesday, nearly half the country will head to the polls to cast ballots on a range of major questions and offices, and President Donald Trump just made a not-so-subtle power grab ahead of the off-year vote. Just days before next week's elections, Attorney General Pam Bondi announced that federal monitors will be sent to California and New Jersey to ensure "ballot security."
Even though there's only one issue on your upcoming November 4 ballot, Trump's Justice Department is calling out the cavalry of so-called election monitors to spy on polling places, perhaps as a warm-up for the 2026 midterms.
