Executive Override

How the Trump administration plans to interfere with the 2026 elections, and what you can do about it

For the first time in modern American history, the machinery of the federal government — which is meant to serve our democracy — is being turned against our elections.

2026 will be different from any election in modern American history. The Trump administration is now wielding the full power of the federal government against our own elections. The administration’s goal is not simply to control the machinery of the elections, but also to silence the voices of those who oppose them. Even so, our electoral system is strong, run by state and local officials in all 50 states. If people in key roles follow the law, we will be able to protect the 2026 election.

The override strategy

The threats are coming from inside the White House

The administration is counting on confusion — on a fog of investigations, executive orders, disinformation campaigns, and legal maneuvers that is difficult for any one person or organization to track in full. Individually, each action can be made to look like a legitimate exercise of executive authority. Together, they form a coherent and deeply alarming strategy.

That strategy has roots in the election subversion efforts of 2022 and 2024, and shares the same key components: deceive voters about the trustworthiness of election systems, disrupt the smooth operation of those systems, and use the ensuing chaos to deny election outcomes that they don’t like.

In 2026, we will see that strategy supercharged, with the full power of the federal government put in its service. 

Deceive: Manufacturing the pretext for disruption and denial

1. Supercharging conspiracies and lies from inside the White House 

The administration has made election denialism official federal policy by using investigative and enforcement powers to manufacture the appearance of fraud, dismantle the agencies that protect elections from real threats, and flood the public with disinformation designed to erode confidence in the 2026 midterms.

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Disrupt: Tilting the electoral playing field

2. Deploy federal power against opponents, organizations, and officials

The administration has used investigative, prosecutorial, and regulatory power to target political opponents, civil society organizations that support democratic participation, and nonpartisan election officials — imposing costs and creating a climate of fear that deters opposition, voter engagement, and faithful public service.

3. Use violence to silence Americans and deter voting

The administration has used and threatened violence to quash protests and political assembly, and created conditions for voter intimidation through its deployment of federal law enforcement and rhetoric about deploying ICE agents near polling locations.

4. Manipulate election rules to block eligible voters

Through executive orders, legislation, and coercive pressure on states, the administration is pursuing a coordinated effort to override the Constitution’s delegation of election authority to states and Congress, seize control over election administration, and make it harder for millions of eligible Americans to register and vote.

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Deny: Intervening to contest and reverse unfavorable results

5. Seek to overturn the results if favored candidates lose

If the administration can’t hold on to power by tilting the electoral playing field or making it harder for Americans to vote, then the conspiracy theories, the rule changes, the data collection, and the targeting of officials serve as building blocks for their final gambit: contesting, delaying, or overturning election results the administration doesn’t like through law enforcement action, certification refusals, frivolous litigation, and potential defiance of the courts.

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What you can do

What you can do

Journalists, influencers, and creators

Inform the public honestly and accurately — establishing clear protocols for covering government disinformation, connecting the dots between specific abuses of power and the administration’s broader strategy, and shedding light rather than fear.

Election officials and state and local leaders

Prepare now — getting smart on the law and the likely threats before the pressure arrives, making concrete plans for how to respond when it does, and building solidarity with counterparts across states and communities so that no one faces that pressure alone.

Private sector and civil society leaders

Speak out, organize, and act in defense of elections, using organizational credibility and reach to protect civic participation and make clear that attacks on our elections will not go unanswered.

The legal community

Ensure the justice system upholds the law — from grand jurors who scrutinize the evidence to magistrates who decline to rubber-stamp deficient warrants to judges who apply the law rigorously when election subversion moves fast.

We the people

Be active participants in our democracy — countering disinformation, voting, strengthening community connections, volunteering as poll workers, and being prepared to mobilize peacefully if a critical moment demands it.

Our electoral system is strong. It is run by officials in all 50 states who, by and large, take their responsibilities seriously. It has a track record in which Democrats and Republicans have both won and lost, and in which results have been accepted on all sides. If people in key roles follow the law and do the right thing in the face of attacks from the White House, we will be able to protect the 2026 elections.