Trump's Five-Pronged Attack on the 2026 Midterms -- And How to Fight Back

The Playbook Is Clear

Trump and his allies aren't hiding their strategy to manipulate the 2026 midterms. According to the Brennan Center for Justice, which has been tracking these efforts in real time, the administration is pursuing five distinct tactics to undermine free and fair elections. The good news: Each attack is meeting organized resistance.

Executive Orders Meet Courtroom Defeats

Trump's executive order targeting mail voting has already landed in court, just like his failed attempt to rewrite voter registration rules last year. Multiple plaintiffs, including the Brennan Center, have sued to block the order. As they wrote in their filing: "President Trump tried to make an end-run around the Constitution with another executive order last year and was promptly rebuffed by multiple courts. History will repeat itself."

The pattern is familiar because it's a repeat. Trump issues unconstitutional orders, courts strike them down, he issues new ones. It's government by chaos, designed to exhaust the opposition and confuse voters.

The SAVE Act: Voter ID on Steroids

Congressional Republicans spent two weeks in March debating the so-called SAVE Act, which they'll likely resurrect when they return from recess. Supporters frame it as a simple voter ID bill. That's a lie.

The SAVE Act would require voters to produce a passport or birth certificate to register -- documents that 21 million Americans lack easy access to. It goes far beyond ID requirements at the polls, creating new barriers at every stage of the voting process. If enacted, it would be the most restrictive federal voting law in American history.

The Brennan Center has long supported commonsense voter ID measures, including those in the 2021 Freedom to Vote Act. This isn't that. This is targeted disenfranchisement dressed up as election security.

Public pressure has blocked the bill so far. Keeping it from becoming law will require sustained outcry.

DOJ Demands Voter Rolls, States Push Back

Federal prosecutors have demanded that states hand over sensitive voter roll data. Most states -- including Republican-led ones -- have refused. Three federal courts have already ruled that the federal government has no authority to seize these records.

The Brennan Center has been working with election officials to help them understand their legal rights. The message: You don't have to comply with illegal demands, even when they come from the Department of Justice.

Gutting Election Security Infrastructure

Trump dismantled the federal election security agency that helped state and local officials prepare for threats, misinformation, and violence. The move left a gaping hole in the nation's election infrastructure.

Civil society groups have scrambled to fill the gap. The Brennan Center has assembled a coalition of national security experts -- including former officials from the Navy, Defense Department, and Homeland Security -- to monitor emerging threats and provide training that the federal government no longer offers.

It's a Band-Aid on a gunshot wound, but it's better than nothing.

The ICE Threat

The fifth tactic hasn't happened yet, but Trump ally Steve Bannon has telegraphed it clearly: "We're going to have ICE surround the polls in November." He's described ICE presence at airports as "perfect training for the fall of 2026."

Deploying immigration enforcement agents to intimidate voters would violate numerous state and federal laws. Courts would almost certainly intervene. But court rulings may not be enough to stop armed federal agents from showing up at polling places.

That's where community organizing becomes critical. The League of Women Voters is mobilizing tens of thousands of volunteers to serve as poll watchers, walk voters to the polls, and ensure calm and safety on Election Day. Clergy, veterans groups, and neighborhood organizations are preparing similar efforts.

If ICE shows up, they'll be met by citizens who refuse to be intimidated.

The Supreme Court Wild Card

One major uncertainty looms: The Supreme Court could overturn laws in 14 states, Washington D.C., and three U.S. territories that count ballots received after Election Day as long as they're postmarked on time. Such a ruling would upend voting in states like California, Montana, and Utah, where mail voting is standard practice.

There will be more surprises. There always are.

A Different Kind of Mobilization

Here's what's changed: Voter suppression used to be a demobilizing issue. Tell people their vote might not count, and they stay home -- especially low-propensity voters who need encouragement to participate.

This year feels different. Voters are watching their rights get attacked in real time, and they're getting angry instead of discouraged. The visibility of the threat appears to be galvanizing turnout rather than suppressing it.

That shift matters. An energized electorate is harder to suppress than a demoralized one.

What Comes Next

Safe and secure elections in 2026 are possible, but they won't happen automatically. They'll require sustained legal challenges, state-level resistance, community organizing, and voter mobilization on a scale we haven't seen in years.

The right to vote is under direct attack. Courts will play a role in defending it. So will election officials, civil society groups, and ordinary citizens who show up to protect their neighbors' access to the ballot.

The Trump administration has made its intentions clear. The question now is whether the rest of us will match their commitment with our own.