Category Archives: authoritarian threats in US

Register for Free Sept. 16 Webinar from Safeguarding Democracy Project: “The Risk of Federal Interference in the 2026 Midterm Elections”

September 8, 2025, 7:30 amauthoritarian threats in US, election administration, election subversion riskRick Hasen

The Risk of Federal Interference in the 2026 Midterm Elections Tuesday, September 16, 12:15pm-1:15pm PT, Webinar Register here. Ben Haiman, UVA Center for Public Safety and Justice, Liz Howard, NYU Law Brennan Center for Justice, and Stephen Richer, Ash Center for Democratic Governance… Continue reading

Election Conspiracy Theorist Cleta Mitchell Suggests Trump Could Declare a “National Sovereignty” Crisis and Do an Emergency Federal Takeover of the Midterm Elections (He Can’t and It Would Trigger Massive Protests and the Potential End of American Democracy)

September 5, 2025, 12:00 pmauthoritarian threats in US, election subversion riskRick Hasen

Chilling video: Trump lawyer Cleta Mitchell says Trump may try to declare a “national sovereignty” crisis in 2026 to claim “emergency powers” over elections and override the states— People For the American Way (@peoplefor.bsky.social) 2025-09-05T18:23:54.459Z

“In Texas, a Senate Race Turns Brutal Before It’s Even Declared; Attorney General Ken Paxton is waging ‘legal war’ against Beto O’Rourke, a possible Democratic rival, threatening jail and an investigation that could bankrupt his organization.”

September 4, 2025, 7:51 amauthoritarian threats in US, chicaneryRick Hasen

NYT: For the past month, two Texas political titans — the attorney general Ken Paxton and the former congressman Beto O’Rourke — have been locked in an escalating legal drama, complete with threats of jail time, courtroom showdowns and the… Continue reading

Ugh: “Trump’s DOJ seeks voting equipment in Missouri ahead of 2026 election”

September 3, 2025, 3:18 pmauthoritarian threats in US, chicanery, election subversion risk, voting technologyRick Hasen

WaPo: A top official in President Donald Trump’s Justice Department recently sought access to voting equipment used by two Republican clerks in Missouri during the 2020 election, an unusual request from federal officials amid continued efforts by the president to… Continue reading

“Richard Bernstein: The Trump Administration’s Arguments About the National Guard Threaten the 2026 Elections”

September 3, 2025, 1:28 pmauthoritarian threats in US, election subversion riskRick Hasen

Must-read: Yesterday, federal District Judge Charles Breyer ruled that the Trump Administration’s federalization of the National Guard in Los Angeles to assist in immigration law enforcement violated the Posse Comitatus Act, which is 18 U.S.C. section 1385. The Posse Comitatus… Continue reading

Announcing the Safeguarding Democracy Project’s Fall Lineup of Events and Webinars, Focused on the Fairness and Integrity of the 2026 Midterms

September 2, 2025, 7:45 amalternative voting systems, authoritarian threats in US, election administration, redistricting, Supreme Court, The Voting Wars, Voting Rights ActRick Hasen

“Already Pardoned by Trump, Jan. 6 Rioters Push for Compensation”

September 1, 2025, 9:12 amauthoritarian threats in US, Department of Justice, election subversion riskRick Hasen

Bizarro World continues: The rioters who attacked the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, secured a shocking double victory this year. President Trump granted them clemency for their crimes on his first day back in the White House, and in the… Continue reading

“Trump Says He Will Sign Executive Order Mandating Voter I.D.” (And No, He Doesn’t Have the Power to Mandate Voter ID)

August 31, 2025, 10:46 amauthoritarian threats in US, election administrationRick Hasen

NYT: President Trump said late Saturday that he would issue an executive order to require voter identification for all U.S. elections, a continuation of his efforts to overhaul the nation’s election laws, which he has long attacked and falsely blamed… Continue reading

“Justice Dept. Broadens Inquiry Into Key Players in Russia Investigation”

August 27, 2025, 7:45 amauthoritarian threats in US, chicanery, Department of JusticeRick Hasen

NYT: Pursuing a theory promoted by Trump loyalists, the Justice Department is investigating whether F.B.I. officials during and after the Biden administration tried to hide or secretly destroy documents that might cast doubt on the earlier inquiry into Russia’s attempt… Continue reading

“What to Expect Next in the Trump Administration’s Strategy to Meddle with the Vote”

August 27, 2025, 7:37 amauthoritarian threats in US, election administrationRick Hasen

New Brennan Center report: Last Monday, President Trump posted on social media that he would sign an executive order aimed at eliminating mail voting. It would be his second executive order on elections, following a March executive order that,… Continue reading

“Reframing Jan. 6: After the Pardons, the Purge”

August 24, 2025, 3:05 pmauthoritarian threats in US, Department of JusticeRick Hasen

NYT: The lawyer took the elevator 32 floors to the U.S. attorney’s office, where for eight years he had worked as a highly regarded prosecutor. He had a container of homemade chocolate chip cookies to share and some thoughts to… Continue reading

I Spoke to the PBS News Hour Weekend About Trump’s Threats to the Integrity of the 2026 Midterm Elections

August 24, 2025, 7:44 amauthoritarian threats in US, election administration, election subversion riskRick Hasen

Watch here:

“DHS to states: Follow our voting rules or lose out on election security money”

August 23, 2025, 12:23 pmauthoritarian threats in US, election administrationRick Hasen

NPR: The Trump administration has indicated it may withhold tens of millions of dollars in election security funding if states don’t comply with its voting policy goals. The money comes from a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) grant program, and… Continue reading

Bob Bauer Sounds the Alarm: “Donald Trump’s Plan for ‘Honest’ Mid-Term Elections”

August 21, 2025, 12:46 pmauthoritarian threats in US, election administration, election subversion riskRick Hasen

Bob Bauer writes, very much in line with what I wrote in the NYT yesterday: On August 18, Donald Trump announced on Truth Social that he would sign another executive order, following one issued in March, to “help… Continue reading

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The law of politics and the politics of law