Now that the Save America Act is dead and Trump’s charcuterie war has been a fiasco, those worried about the midterm elections are turning their attention to other ways Trump might try to intervene and keep his party in power.
The federal government has no authority over elections. Elections are held at the state and local levels, so any effort by Trump to interfere in the election will have to be external.
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Governor JB Pritzker (D-IL) spoke about the steps governors are taking to secure their elections against Trump’s interference in MS NOW.
Pritzker said:
I think we all need to recognize that we cannot capitulate. Every day you let an authoritarian regime do what it wants is another day we lose rights. And the more rights we lose, the less likely it is that we will ever restore our democracy, our republic, to the way it was before Donald Trump’s second term. So that’s the first part.
How will we protect the vote?
And I’ve spoken to a number of governors. I started an organization with Governor Polis called Governors Safeguarding Democracy. It’s early in this administration, and we’ve been talking with other governors about how we’re going to protect the vote.
Well, one of the ways we plan to do that is to make sure, first of all, that we sue them in advance to keep these troops, these ICE and CBP agents away from the voting booth.
Second, we must communicate to the public about their rights. You have every right to go vote, even if you see someone wearing a uniform and carrying an automatic weapon with, you know, a mask. These people can’t stop you from voting, and I know it’s scary, but this is the time when you have to overcome your fear, go to the polls and show America that we are going to restore our democracy. We need everyone to vote. This communication must take place.
And then finally, you know, a lot of us talked about organizing people to go to the polling places, escorting people to make sure that they don’t feel intimidated by these people who don’t have a right to be there. Their only target, ICE, CBP and the National Guard. Their only objective will be to scare people away. And we don’t want that. And besides, all we want is for eligible voters, American citizens who are eligible voters, to be able to vote.
And we just don’t want people to be afraid to go vote. So the more we can communicate, the more escorts we can have. and the farther we can keep the National Guard from our streets and from these polling places. The better off we will be, but many strategies will be used. I don’t want to give away what everyone thinks about how they would do it. It will be state by state, decided individually by those governors.
Pritzker video:
Each state differs in how they protect their elections, but governors are assuming that Trump will try something and are being proactive, not reactive.
Trump does not have enough ICE agents and National Guard troops to launch immigration actions in all swing and blue states to disrupt the election. The military is already strained by Trump’s foreign follies.
The reality is that Trump may not be physically trying to disrupt the midterm elections, but he may use various actions, such as legal action, to try to create the impression that the election was stolen after his defeat.
People are worried about what Trump might do, so it’s important to understand that governors are considering protecting democracy and keeping the midterm elections secure.
What do you think of Pritzker’s comments? Do they reassure you? Let me know in the comments below.