Political Wire

Just dropped · Trial Balloon · Ep. 189

Navigating the Nonsense

A new episode of Trial Balloon just dropped for Political Wire members. Log in or become a member

Trial Balloon · Ep. 189: Navigating the Nonsense

Both Parties Preparing for Post-Election Challenges

· Leave a Comment

“For America’s two major political parties, Nov. 3 is shaping up to be an Election Day of mutual distrust. The proof is in the deluge of litigation already filed in courthouses around the country,” the New York Times reports.

“The Trump administration is heading into the midterms fixated on the unfounded claim that voter registration by noncitizens is a widespread problem. The Democrats, noting that President Trump tried to overturn his 2020 election loss — and that he recently encouraged his followers to ‘cheat like hell’ in the midterms — are bracing for what they say will be an onslaught of Republican tactics, from the intimidation of voters to the potential seizure of ballots.”

“The specific contours of these anxieties are evident in the scores of election-related lawsuits filed by the two parties and their allies. They are concerned with matters as granular as the proper way to seal a ballot envelope in North Carolina, and as sweeping as the role of the federal government in an election system that is, per the Constitution, administered by the states.”

Early Voting Shows Emerging Signs of a Democratic Edge

· Leave a Comment

“Election Day is still a month away, but more than 690,000 Americans have already voted across at least 29 states. There are signs emerging of the advantage Democrats have in motivating their voters – a trend that’s played out in polling all summer long,” CNN reports.

“In several states with key Senate or governor races this fall, Democrats make up a larger share of voters requesting ballots so far than they did at this point in 2024.”

Judge Blocks Trump From Pulling Counteterrorism Funds

· Leave a Comment

“A federal judge on Monday blocked the authority of President Donald Trump’s administration to withhold some federal counterterrorism funding from states that don’t meet its election administration demands,” the Associated Press reports.

“Courts have largely rejected the administration’s previous efforts, which reflect untrue claims about widespread voting fraud and come ahead of November’s midterm elections where Democrats seek to take control of one or both chambers of Congress and check Trump’s power.”

Inside Trump’s Plan to Sharply Restrict Mail-In Voting

· Leave a Comment

ProPublica: “According to several people knowledgeable about the discussions, the administration initially floated an idea that would have virtually shut down mail voting: requiring all ballots to be delivered exclusively through certified mail. The proposal — which would have required voters to be home and sign for delivery of their ballots — was ultimately abandoned, after vehement Postal Service objections that it would have been impossible to execute.”

“Even after the idea fizzled, Postal Service officials were cut out of crucial conversations as the Trump administration moved forward with what became the final executive order, two people familiar with the matter said. Issued in March, its contents came as a shock even to the Postal Service’s lawyers.”

“Trump’s order would have forced postal workers to serve as gatekeepers, deciding which ballots would be delivered and which wouldn’t. Beyond that, it would have inexplicably handed authority over the plan’s execution to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, who has no formal oversight over the Postal Service.”

How Trump Is Using Power to Try to Shape Who Votes

· Leave a Comment

“One major variable hanging over the midterm elections has nothing to do with gas prices, campaign funding, or candidate quality,” Bloomberg reports.

“It’s about Donald Trump’s far-reaching attempts to use the power of the federal government to shape who votes, and how.”

“After his flailing attempt to overturn the 2020 election, Trump is taking a more systematic approach this year to transform the nation’s electoral system, with aides more willing to back up his debunked claims of massive voter fraud.”

“The effort so far has involved or attempted to involve the departments of Homeland Security, State, Justice, and Commerce, the Postal Service, the former head of national intelligence, and FBI.”

State Department Considering Passport Records

· Leave a Comment

“The State Department is ‘assessing’ how to share passport information with state and local governments, as well as some nonprofit groups, ahead of the midterm elections,” NewsNation reports.

“According to a department spokesperson, the goal is to share the information in a way that ‘protects Americans’ data, deters fraud and supports the integrity of U.S. citizenship.'”

Trump Could Use ‘Counting Window’ to Disrupt Election

· Leave a Comment

“Election experts have warned Donald Trump’s administration could use the crucial hours and days after November’s midterm elections to disrupt the results after struggling to enforce a crackdown on voting,” The Guardian reports.

“With less than six weeks remaining until polls close, and control of U.S. Congress in the balance, the post-election ‘counting window’ is seen as as a particularly vulnerable moment by former U.S. federal government officials.”

How Trump’s Election Plan Is Falling Into Place

· Leave a Comment

“The Supreme Court on Friday allowed the federal government to deploy its own immigration database to check voters’ citizenship, greenlighting a key part of the Trump administration’s push to expand its role in elections,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“The administration has also threatened prosecutions of elections officials and is preparing to send poll monitors to a swath of states. Other efforts—such as getting the Postal Service to impose new restrictions on mail-in ballots—have been blocked by the courts for the midterms.”

“Many states say they now see the federal government as an adversary on elections, with tensions and confusion already running high across multiple fronts.”

Ruling Could Have Limited Impact On Voter Screening

· Leave a Comment

“Friday’s Supreme Court ruling clearing the way for states to use a sweeping online system to identify ineligible voters is a victory for the Trump administration, which has routinely promoted unfounded claims of widespread illegal voting by noncitizens,” the New York Times reports.

“But the impact of the decision on the November midterm elections is likely to be limited, according to election law experts.”

Supreme Court Allows States to Purge Voters

· Leave a Comment

“The Supreme Court on Friday cleared the way for states to use the federal government’s overhauled immigration database to purge noncitizens from voter rolls ahead of the midterms,” the Washington Sun reports.

“The unsigned decision sided with the Department of Homeland Security, which sought to revive the modified system — which contained Social Security information and other individual data — after U.S. District Judge Sparkle Sooknanan ordered it shut down in June. Three justices dissented from the decision.”

New York Times: Supreme Court allows federal voter identification tool ahead of midterms.

Trump Continues Voter Data Push Despite Setbacks

· Leave a Comment

“President Donald Trump is pressing forward with an unprecedented push for his administration to obtain sensitive voter data ahead of the U.S. midterm elections, despite repeated losses in court, in a hunt for noncitizens illegally registered to vote, though there has been no evidence of widespread fraud of this kind,” Reuters reports.

Trump’s Claims of Illegal Voting in Nevada Fizzle

· Leave a Comment

New York Times: “When the Department of Homeland Security sent Nevada a list of 185 names last month that it claimed identified noncitizens who had been improperly allowed to register to vote, state election officials got to work.”

“On Tuesday, the state sent a strongly worded rebuke to the federal government: Every single person on the list was a lawful citizen.”

Texas Has Huge Backlog in Voter Registration Applications

· Leave a Comment

“County election offices throughout Texas are scrambling to process a massive backlog of voter registration applications stemming from an error at the state level, a headache that is hitting just as they are preparing for voting to begin in the midterm elections,” the Associated Press reports.

“The problem, which officials in the Republican-controlled state have not publicly defined, also could have disenfranchised people who wanted to vote in the state’s March primary but whose registration applications were never processed.”

Washington Post: Texas voter-registration backlog could affect midterms.

Trump Pursues Last-Ditch Hunt for Voter Fraud

· Leave a Comment

“The Trump administration says Americans should prepare between now and Election Day for a wave of new arrests and prosecutions over alleged non-citizen voter fraud,” Axios reports.

“The Trump administration is deploying hundreds of federal investigators and attorneys to pursue President Trump’s long-running fixation — and test a broader Republican claim that tougher enforcement will uncover far more illegal voting.”

Midterm Voting Starts in Key States

· Leave a Comment

“It’s 45 days before an Election Day that will determine control of Congress for the remainder of President Donald Trump’s second term and 20 states are already mailing ballots to voters. That includes the hard-fought Senate contests in Texas, Michigan and North Carolina,” Bloomberg reports.

“Tens of millions of Americans will have already cast their ballots before Nov. 3, thanks largely to the Supreme Court earlier this week blocking an effort by the Trump administration to add new restrictions to voting by mail. Thirteen states will in the next 15 days join those that have already sent ballots to voters.”

Taegan Goddard

Taegan Goddard

Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire -- which for more than two decades has been one of the nation's most influential political news sites.

More about Taegan Goddard →