The Trump administration's plans to steal the 2026 midterms are likely to fail, despite the president's efforts to undermine the integrity of American elections.
In a move that has been described as a "nightmare scenario," Trump has said he regrets not ordering the military to seize voting machines in 2020, a plan that was met with swift judicial rebukes and widespread criticism from election officials and lawmakers. The proposal, which would have given the president unprecedented authority over election administration, is unlikely to succeed due to institutional resistance and the constitutional limitations on presidential power.
The latest development in this saga came when the FBI seized 2020 election records — ballots, voter rolls, and scanner images — from a government facility in Fulton County, Georgia. The raid, which was conducted with the approval of a magistrate judge, has raised concerns about the administration's intentions and its use of federal law enforcement to advance its claims of electoral impropriety.
However, despite these efforts, experts believe that Trump's attempts at election interference will fail due to institutional resistance and the lack of evidence to support his claims. "There is a very high risk that the administration will use every tool at its disposal to get voting machines or ballots in the course of an upcoming election," said Wendy Weiser, vice president of democracy at the Brennan Center for Justice. "But I don’t think there is a high risk that they will succeed."
Furthermore, even if Trump were able to seize voting machines or interfere with vote counting, it's unlikely that his efforts would be successful in flipping the outcome of elections. As Justin Levitt, a former DOJ official and professor at Loyola Law School, noted, "Trump wants to project ICE as an all-powerful force everywhere. And they are, as Minneapolis is proving emphatically, not. There simply aren't enough ICE personnel to blanket a modestly large city."
In the end, while Trump's plans to steal the 2026 midterms may seem alarming, they are unlikely to succeed due to institutional resistance and the constitutional limitations on presidential power. As Weiser said, "There is clearly an effort afoot to interfere in our elections and that is something that people should be alarmed about. But this can be thwarted. And it must be."
In a move that has been described as a "nightmare scenario," Trump has said he regrets not ordering the military to seize voting machines in 2020, a plan that was met with swift judicial rebukes and widespread criticism from election officials and lawmakers. The proposal, which would have given the president unprecedented authority over election administration, is unlikely to succeed due to institutional resistance and the constitutional limitations on presidential power.
The latest development in this saga came when the FBI seized 2020 election records — ballots, voter rolls, and scanner images — from a government facility in Fulton County, Georgia. The raid, which was conducted with the approval of a magistrate judge, has raised concerns about the administration's intentions and its use of federal law enforcement to advance its claims of electoral impropriety.
However, despite these efforts, experts believe that Trump's attempts at election interference will fail due to institutional resistance and the lack of evidence to support his claims. "There is a very high risk that the administration will use every tool at its disposal to get voting machines or ballots in the course of an upcoming election," said Wendy Weiser, vice president of democracy at the Brennan Center for Justice. "But I don’t think there is a high risk that they will succeed."
Furthermore, even if Trump were able to seize voting machines or interfere with vote counting, it's unlikely that his efforts would be successful in flipping the outcome of elections. As Justin Levitt, a former DOJ official and professor at Loyola Law School, noted, "Trump wants to project ICE as an all-powerful force everywhere. And they are, as Minneapolis is proving emphatically, not. There simply aren't enough ICE personnel to blanket a modestly large city."
In the end, while Trump's plans to steal the 2026 midterms may seem alarming, they are unlikely to succeed due to institutional resistance and the constitutional limitations on presidential power. As Weiser said, "There is clearly an effort afoot to interfere in our elections and that is something that people should be alarmed about. But this can be thwarted. And it must be."
... its like he thinks he can just do whatever and get away with it? Newsflash, dude: you cant control the voting machines or the votes themselves. theres too many checks and balances in place for that to happen. And even if hes trying to intimidate people with the FBI raid, it just backfires and makes them look even more shady. i mean, whats next? Trying to rig the census or something? 
. Like, he should've learned his lesson by now... but I guess some ppl just don't get it 
. Institutional resistance and constitutional limits are like, super powerful 
. Even if he tries to use the FBI or ICE to intimidate voters or tamper with voting machines, it's unlikely to fly 
. The fact is, Trump just can't seem to wrap his head around the idea that democracy is more important than him 
. And honestly, I think we should all be a bit worried about this stuff... but like Weiser said, there are people working hard to prevent it, so let's stay hopeful! 
Trump's getting more desperate by the day, trying to spin his failed election meddling as some kind of clever ploy 
. The fact that the FBI raided those election records in Georgia is a huge deal - it's like they're sending a message: "We know what you're trying to do and we won't let it happen" 
. And let's be real, even if Trump did manage to get his hands on voting machines or something, it's not like he'd actually win an election 
trump might try to bully his way into election interference, but the system's got his number. and let's be real, even if he did manage to flip some votes, it wouldn't be that easy to just magically change the outcome of an entire election 
so we need to stay vigilant and keep pushing for reforms. no one's above the law, not even the president 
. I think we can all agree that our democracy needs to be protected from any kind of interference or manipulation 
. And honestly, it's refreshing to see some people speaking out against these kinds of shenanigans 
.
. We've got institutions in place to protect our elections and we just need to keep pushing back against any attempts to undermine them 
Still, I gotta wonder if Trump's trying to stir up some trouble before he's out of office 
. I'm not saying Trump is behind it or anything (although... 
), but it's definitely got everyone on high alert now. You'd think they'd have better things to do than snoop around for stolen ballots and whatnot. I mean, get back to work, folks! 
.
. There's no evidence to support it, and experts know it's just a bunch of malarkey 
. They can't blanket a city like Minneapolis with agents, so what makes Trump think he can do more? 
. But I've got faith in our institutions to push back against Trump's antics 
.
. And even if he could pull something like that off, it'd likely backfire and make him look even more paranoid than he already is 
. Wendy Weiser's right, there's no evidence to back up his claims of electoral impropriety 
. And as for flipping elections with voting machines or voter rolls... good luck with that, buddy 
. It's just gonna be one more embarrassing chapter in his presidential saga 
.
.
. Weiser's right, though - if Trump tries to muscle in on election admin, he'll get slapped down by courts or Congress eventually. And what's with all this talk of "ICE personnel"? I don't think a few more cops will scare people into changing their votes 
that Trump's attempts to rig the 2026 midterms are unlikely to fly 
. It's disconcerting enough when you hear rumors of election tampering, but at least the system seems to have a few checks in place 
... The FBI raid in Georgia was a red flag, for sure 
. It's all about protecting the democratic process and making sure our votes count 
Anyway, I'm low-key worried about voter suppression and all that jazz. Let's hope we can figure out a way to keep our elections legit! 
. We need to stay vigilant and make sure we're doing everything we can to protect the integrity of our democracy 
What's next, trying to rig the internet itself? 
But seriously though, how do we prevent this kind of thing from happening again? 
like seriously how many times does he need to mess with our democracy before someone actually holds him accountable?! 
he's sorely mistaken 
. newsflash dude: your attempts at election interference are NOT going to fly