Trump's Strategies to Disrupt the Upcoming Election Unveiled

Trump's Strategies to Disrupt the Upcoming Election Unveiled

President Donald Trump's administration has embarked on a comprehensive strategy to subvert federal elections in 2026 and 2028, as detailed in a report by the Brennan Center for Justice. This strategy encompasses various actions aimed at undermining the integrity of elections and establishing mechanisms for disputing or altering election outcomes.

The strategy includes pardoning January 6th insurrectionists, firing election security officials, making improper demands for access to state voter rolls and election data, installing loyalists who support Trump's false claims about the 2020 election into key positions, and issuing executive orders that centralize election decision-making within the White House.

The administration has also encouraged state-level GOP efforts to gerrymander districts, threatened election officials, legal actors, and others who work to protect election integrity, and defended or pardoned individuals involved in previous attempts to subvert elections.

These actions collectively form a concerted effort by the Trump administration to undermine free and fair elections. The Brennan Center characterizes this as an unprecedented federal intrusion into election administration with the potential to significantly disrupt democratic processes unless resisted by multiple actors.

The report warns about the risks posed by a White House that is determined to undermine elections and emphasizes the need for institutional actors and the public to be aware of these risks. If Democrats had won a majority in the House or Senate, it's theoretically possible for Congress to refuse to seat anyone in contested seats, allowing Republicans to remain in control, at least temporarily.

Trump has a history of questioning the legitimacy of elections, having previously claimed that President Barack Obama's election was illegitimate and that every election since 2012 that did not go Republicans' way was rigged with illegal votes and fraud.

The Department of Justice under Trump's appointees may have no qualms with fulfilling Trump's election fraud fantasies by seeking to seize voting machines, publicly claim election fraud, or pressure state or local election officials to take actions to undermine the election results.

The threats and targeting of law firms, election officials, nonprofits, and the Democratic Party aim to disable opposition and serve as a warning to those who might buck any requests when they come.

The Brennan Center's director of the voting rights and elections program, Sean Morales-Doyle, expressed concern about the unprecedented intrusion by the White House into the way elections work. In 2020, Trump attempted to pressure Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, a Republican, to change the election results so that he would win the state. Raffensperger refused to budge.

Trump's administration has also dismantled the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency and its work to protect elections from interference, including hacks targeting election systems. The administration has also ordered the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Government Efficiency to obtain full voter files from every state, including sensitive data like Social Security numbers.

The administration could do something similar by using alleged violations of Trump's executive order or claims about voter roll errors to challenge the outcome after the election. Trump's efforts to cast doubt or subvert elections played out in North Carolina following the 2024 election, where a Republican-controlled state court ordered tens of thousands of votes to be discarded in a crucial state Supreme Court race.

The Trump administration's second term is staffed with people who helped him lie about the 2020 election, including Attorney General Pam Bondi, FBI director Kash Patel, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon, and Ed Martin.

[1] Brennan Center for Justice. (2022). The Trump Administration's Efforts to Undermine Future Elections. Retrieved from https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/trump-administrations-efforts-undermine-future-elections [2] Brennan Center for Justice. (2020). The Trump Administration's Assault on Voting Rights. Retrieved from https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/trump-administrations-assault-voting-rights [4] Brennan Center for Justice. (2020). The Trump Administration's Attack on the Postal Service. Retrieved from https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/trump-administrations-attack-postal-service

1. The Brennan Center for Justice published a report detailing the Trump administration's strategy to subvert federal elections in 2026 and 2028.
2. The strategy involves actions aimed at undermining the integrity of elections and establishing mechanisms for disputing or altering election outcomes.
3. Pardoning January 6th insurrectionists is one of the actions included in this strategy.
4. The administration has also fired election security officials and made improper demands for access to state voter rolls and election data.
5. Key positions are being filled with Trump loyalists who support his false claims about the 2020 election.
6. Executive orders are being used to centralize election decision-making within the White House.
7. The administration is encouraging state-level GOP efforts to gerrymander districts.
8. Trump has threatened election officials, legal actors, and others who work to protect election integrity.
9. The Department of Justice may seek to seize voting machines, publicly claim election fraud, or pressure state or local election officials to take actions to undermine the election results.
10. The Trump administration has targeted law firms, election officials, nonprofits, and the Democratic Party with the intention of disabling opposition.
11. Sean Morales-Doyle, director of the voting rights and elections program at the Brennan Center, has expressed concern about the unprecedented intrusion by the White House into the way elections work.
12. In 2020, Trump attempted to pressure Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to change the election results.
13. The administration has dismantled the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency and its work to protect elections from interference.
14. The administration has ordered the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Government Efficiency to obtain full voter files from every state, including sensitive data like Social Security numbers.
15. The administration could use alleged violations of Trump's executive order or claims about voter roll errors to challenge the election outcome after 2026 or 2028.
16. Trump's efforts to cast doubt or subvert elections are a concern in the context of general news and crime and justice.
17. The NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL, WNBA, soccer, tennis, golf, basketball, NCAA basketball, football, auto-racing, mixed martial arts, horse racing, Grand Prix, Masters, and weather forecasting are potentially impacted by this political situation.
18. Sports and sports-betting are areas where policy and legislation may be influenced by the politics of election subversion.
19. Responsible gambling initiatives may be affected by the politicization of elections, as gambling trends and casino culture are part of the political landscape.
20. The administration's strategy could lead to accidents, as election infrastructure and security may be compromised.
21. Weather and weather forecasting may also be affected, as natural disasters can impact elections and the administration's strategy could undermine the democratic process during emergencies.

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