OPINION: Protecting the Midterm Election Needs to Start Now

This week I voted in my upcoming local election. Here in Washington State, we vote by mail, and it’s a pretty neat system. Your ballot arrives, you have time to fill it out, and then you can either mail it or drop it off at one of the many drop-off boxes. You can check whether your ballot has been received and processed, and if there’s an issue, an election official can call or email you to resolve it. While I miss physically voting in person and part of me is sad that I won’t ever bring my kids to a voting booth, I can’t deny that vote-by-mail makes a lot more sense. It’s a fantastic way to cast your ballot.

We’re one year out from the midterm elections, and I’ve been thinking a lot about them. Winning as large a Democratic majority as possible is clearly essential, but the bigger challenge is ensuring that the elections are free and fair, and that the Trump Regime accepts the results.

The Trump Regime is doing everything, and using every lever of power it has to undermine the midterm election (The Brennan Center for Justice is tracking every action on an interactive timeline). From pressuring red states with GOP majorities to hastily redraw Congressional maps, to charging a growing list of Democratic elected officials and candidates with crimes, to the constant stream of propaganda about voter fraud that isn’t happening, and demonizing vote-by-mail and early voting – the pattern is unmistakable. Some prominent right-wing figures are already calling for Trump to declare a national emergency in order to justify dictating new election rules to the states. I fully expect the Trump Regime to contest every election result using the courts, the bully pulpit, law enforcement, and the military rather than cede any power.

I don’t say this to be a doomer, but I want to make clear that simply voting in next year’s midterms won’t be enough. It’s on us to ensure that the midterm elections are secure and the results are accepted. The good news is that in the US, our elections are decentralized, governed mainly by state laws, and run at the municipal and county levels. Additionally, in my experience, most local election officials, regardless of their political party, take their job and their oath seriously and don’t take kindly to the accusation of running a fraudulent election. That gives us a lot to work with and plenty of levers of our own to pull.




https://buckscountybeacon.com/2025/11/opinion-protecting-the-midterm-election-needs-to-start-now/