America’s Election Safeguards Are Under Siege Ahead of 2026

American democracy has long relied on a resilient, overlapping network of election safeguards acting like a robust immune system. When one part weakens, others step up, preserving the integrity of free and fair elections across the country’s vast and diverse landscape. But as we approach the 2026 elections, that immune system is battling a new and dangerous virus: the Trump administration’s authoritarian election takeover playbook.

Historically, the executive branch played a supportive role, boosting election security and enforcing voting rights. Now, it has become the greatest threat to the system’s health. President Trump and his allies have aggressively pushed to nationalize elections, undermine federal agencies tasked with election security, and install loyalists eager to carry out baseless claims of fraud. The result is a systemic assault on democracy from the very office sworn to protect it.

Congress, designed by the Framers as a critical check on executive overreach, is in critical condition. Most Republican lawmakers have turned a blind eye to unconstitutional interference, even backing legislation that would hand more control over elections to the executive branch. While a few GOP members have pushed back, these isolated acts are insufficient to stop the erosion.

Inside the executive branch, internal safeguards have been gutted. Career civil servants and nonpartisan officials who once resisted election subversion have been replaced by loyalists with ties to the 2020 election denial movement. Agencies like the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) have been stripped of resources and expertise, crippling federal election security and anti-disinformation efforts.

State and local election officials remain a bulwark but are severely stressed by relentless attacks and political pressure. The decentralized nature of America’s elections has long been a strength, preventing any single actor from seizing control. Yet, the growing strain on these officials threatens to weaken this critical line of defense.

Other pillars of the system—from courts and law enforcement to civil society and the information ecosystem—are either under severe stress or in critical condition. The danger is not just the immediate risk to the 2026 elections but the possibility that these authoritarian tactics become entrenched, permanently damaging democratic norms.

The health check is clear: without urgent action to restore these safeguards, the immune system protecting American elections may fail when it is needed most. The fight for democracy is not over, and the time to hold power accountable is now.