Donald Trump is trying to seize power the Constitution does not give him to interfere with how states run their elections.
An executive order signed by Trump earlier this year directs the Department of Homeland Security to compile lists of eligible voters, encourages the Justice Department to investigate and prosecute state election officials, and orders the Postal Service to consider new restrictions on mail ballots. These actions could create confusion, delay ballots, and prevent eligible voters from having their votes counted.
A federal district court blocked the order while litigation continued. But in a 6-3 shadow docket ruling released Monday, the Supreme Court’s MAGA majority cleared the way for the Trump administration to proceed.
It’s important to note that the justices did not rule that Trump’s scheme is legal. Instead, the majority concluded that the states challenging it had sued too soon because the administration has not yet finalized its lists or postal rules.
That distinction may sound procedural, but the consequences are very real. The administration now has more time to build the machinery for election interference before the midterms. As Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson warned, the ruling “contributes to pre-election chaos instead of quashing it.”
We cannot wait for that chaos to reach our communities. Our immediate response must be preparation, vigilance, and person-to-person organizing.
Check Your Registration and Make a Voting Plan
Here is what each of us needs to do:
- Find the voter registration deadline in your state. Make sure your family, friends, acquaintances, and colleagues are registered before it passes. Encourage people who are not registered to register, and urge those who do not usually vote to participate this year.
- Two weeks before Election Day, check your registration and polling location. Check them again one week before Election Day so you know you remain on the rolls and where you need to go.
- During the final week, contact the people in your life and remind them to vote. Help them confirm when, where, and how they will cast their ballots.
But voters should not have to out-organize an unlawful presidential power grab while a captured and corrupt Supreme Court gives it room to advance.
People For the American Way is working to mobilize voters, fight attacks on our democracy, and advance the reforms needed to rein in this unaccountable Supreme Court majority. Your donation will help us prepare communities for the threats ahead while building the power to prevent Trump and his judicial collaborators from continuing to trample our rights.
Trump may be able to create new obstacles, and the Supreme Court’s MAGA majority may have given him a dangerous head start. But they do not get the final word.
We will make sure voters are registered, prepared, and determined to be heard, and we will keep fighting for a democracy and a Supreme Court that answer to the people.
