As the crucial midterm elections of 2026 are now just about a month away, many of us are partially paralyzed by the avalanche of mostly illegal steps and stunts the Trump administration is taking to prevent a Democratic takeover of Congress next January. Time after time the courts have had to intervene to stop Trump’s illegal gambits, more than 150 times since January 2025, many of those actions concerning attempts to prevent Democrats from voting.
Consider Trump’s SAVE Act. It would have required voters to present documentary evidence of their citizenship before they/we could vote. Its legality has not been tested in court because not even enough Senate Republicans could stomach it. But wait, isn’t it common sense that only citizens should be allowed to vote? Yes indeed. The catch is the part where you would have to present documentary proof. Only roughly half of Americans have passports; the Brennan Center estimates that nearly 10% of voting-age citizens have no access to any such documentation. That is nearly 26 million people, largely poor, disproportionately people of color, heavily Democratic leaning, mostly born here. Certified cases of non-citizens voting in our elections are vanishingly rare. The Brennan Center did a study that concluded that there was suspected (not even proven) fraud in “0.0001 percent of the votes cast.” So why would anyone want to prevent as many as 26 million Americans from voting? The question answers itself.
This is just one instance among many. Another is the current attempt, in blatant violation of the First Amendment, to ban from the White House news outlets whose coverage Trump deems unflattering. And there may be worse, even much worse, to come. Rumors abound of FBI or ICE agents, even troops, being sent to polling places on Nov. 3, again violating federal law. Trump will almost certainly contest many of the outcomes in cases where Democrats triumph. Most draconian of all would be the refusal of Speaker Mike Johnson, Trump’s marionette in the House, to seat the newly elected Democratic representatives. American democracy seems likely to face a severe stress test in the months to come. I hope I am wrong.
John Connolly
Haydenville