americanprogress.org
The Trump Administration Is Interfering in the 2026 Midterm Elections To Entrench the Imperial Presidency
In the 18 months since Inauguration Day, President Donald Trump and his administration have seized unprecedented executive branch power to implement extremist and unpopular policies. Now, to lock in that power and escape accountability, the administration is waging an unconstitutional effort to subvert voters’ will in the November 2026 midterm elections. For decades, political scientists who study backsliding democracies around the world have identified a crucial tactic used by would-be authoritarians: Once they have dismantled traditional checks and balances and weaponized government against their perceived political enemies, they move to disrupt and control elections to ensure that they and their allies remain in office. The right to freely and fairly vote for elected leaders is the most fundamental feature of a democratic republic. It is the mechanism through which all other rights are ultimately protected and through which the government derives its legitimate authority. As the United States marks 250 years of democratic self-governance, that right—and the republic it sustains—faces the gravest threat from within. This report is the third in a Center for American Progress series documenting how the Trump administration planned and then built an imperial presidency. This report revisits earlier analyses, which detailed the steps that the...
