Democrats prepare legal and observational countermeasures for November votes
A coordinated effort among lawmakers, lawyers, and nonpartisan groups aims to counter executive actions that seek to expand federal control over state-run elections.
By Marco Kapoor ·
Congressional Democrats have assembled a coordinated defense strategy to protect the November midterm elections from claims of fraud.
The Trump administration has collected millions of state voter records for law enforcement, restricted mail-in voting, and declined to invite international observers. White House spokeswoman Lauren Bis stated in an October statement that the administration is taking decisive action to protect elections. She said, "President Trump has done more than any other President to ensure we have free and fair elections."
The administration has filed 31 federal lawsuits seeking state voter data, according to a tally by the State Democracy Research Initiative at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. States have largely refused to comply, citing privacy laws and constitutional provisions. On October 9, 2026, a federal district court ruled that the Justice Department's voter data collection policy exceeds its authority and violates federal law. The court vacated the policy nationwide, and the Justice Department appealed the decision to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.
Justin Vail, a leader at Protect Democracy and former special assistant to President Joe Biden, described the administration's approach as a three-step playbook: deceive, disrupt, and deny. He said, "First, he deceives Americans, manufacturing false claims about voter fraud.. Second, he seeks to disrupt the normal state and local management of elections.. And if that's all not enough, Trump is prepared to outright deny election results that he doesn't like."
Marc Elias, an election litigator and task force member, noted that his firm has been involved in dozens of lawsuits across every state. He said, "History has shown that Donald Trump is willing to weaponize power against all points of that process." The group monitors the entire election continuum, from voter registration through ballot tabulation and certification.
Democracy Forward, a legal nonprofit, wrote that the administration's efforts harness the president's conspiracy theories in pursuit of discovering so-called election fraud. The organization stated that these actions are reckless and risk intimidating and disenfranchising voters. Task force members worry the administration will point to slow vote counting in states like California and Alaska as evidence of fraud.
Sen. Lisa Blunt Rochester, D-Del., said in August that Democrats recognize elections are run at the local and state levels. She emphasized the need to partner with state authorities and civil society organizations. She said, "we're each going to do our part to ensure that this election is safe, reliable, strong, that workers at the polls are protected."
The Senate is launching its first-ever election observer program this year, joining a similar House program that dates to the 1980s. Senate Democratic Majority Leader Schumer and Sen. Padilla announced in October that more than 100 staff have agreed to participate. Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., has not indicated whether Republican staffers will join the program. Staff observers will watch voting and tabulation sites to inform lawmakers for oversight work.
Elias criticized Congressional Republicans for failing to unify in defending congressional authority over elections. He referenced House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune by name. He said, "Imagine a brief that was submitted by the House of Representatives itself.. telling the courts that Congress was jealously guarding its authority." He added that such a move would have a real impact.
Task force members have prepared legal briefs and contact lists for high-risk areas, including California, Illinois, and New York. Trump wrote on Truth Social last August that states are merely an agent for the federal government in counting votes. Multiple election law experts agreed that the Constitution delegates election administration explicitly to the states and Congress, leaving the president with no direct role.
