Law, Power, and Justice

The sanctity of the 2026 elections is indeed under threat. And the reason is Mr. Trump.

He has repeatedly demonstrated his willingness to interfere with elections to benefit himself and his party. He has broken the law to do so and broken longstanding bipartisan traditions. Since he entered politics a decade ago, he has suggested that election outcomes are fair only if his side wins. In 2020, after he lost the presidential election, he attempted to direct a sprawling conspiracy to overturn the result. As it was failing (thanks to the honesty of election administrators from both parties), he encouraged protesters to march to Congress when it was meeting to certify his defeat — and later celebrated their violent attack.

Since he returned to the presidency last year, he has if anything shown a willingness to go further. He has pushed for extreme gerrymandering of congressional districts, outside the normal 10-year cycle, to help Republicans hold the House even if most voters want them out. His Justice Department is building an unprecedented database of voter information that experts fear the administration may use to cast unfair doubt on voters’ eligibility. He signed a legally dubious executive order that could force states to reject some mail-in ballots. He recently told The Timesthat he regretted not sending the National Guard to seize voting machines after the 2020 presidential election.