On Tuesday, the American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU, hosted a virtual press briefing to discuss the Trump administration’s escalating threats of election interference ahead of the 2026 midterms.
The experts on the call noted several instances of concerning rhetoric coming out of the White House, including the president’s recent primetime address in which he reiterated debunked conspiracy theories surrounding his loss in the 2020 presidential election. Trump has also been insistent that Congress pass the SAVE America Act, legislation that would implement strict voter ID requirements and potentially disenfranchise millions of Americans.
Sophia Lin Lakin, ACLU’s Voting Rights Project director, stressed that the Trump administration is already pursuing “real, coordinated efforts” to change how elections are administered and obstruct Americans’ access to the ballot box. However, she also noted the ACLU’s commitment to tackling these challenges head-on, citing over 80 legal actions the organization has already taken this year to protect voting rights in over two dozen states.
“Lawyers, organizers, communications staff, and volunteers are working today to identify risks, support voters, and respond quickly when officials overstep,” Lin Lakin said. “We’re challenging unlawful voting barriers in court year-round. We’re monitoring efforts to intimidate voters, interfere with certification, or misuse federal power to influence the electoral process.”
“And we’re making sure that voters know their rights before they encounter a problem, not after,” she added. “The scale of the resources that we are devoting to this effort is a testament to how important the right to vote is.”
ACLU National Democracy Campaigns Director Molly McGrath echoed Lin Lakin’s concerns, and further detailed the efforts the organization is already pursuing in anticipation of executive interference come November. Those efforts include expanded “Know Your Rights” trainings for citizens across the country as well as training for poll monitors who can attend voting and certification sites to observe and report any instances of election interference.
“We have this post-election process covered from the county level through Congress,” McGrath said.
McGrath explained that the ACLU’s resources will be particularly focused on notable battleground states where the organization expects elections to be decided by closer margins and where they anticipate interference efforts may be most likely to occur. They will also concentrate on races where power shifts are more likely to take place and in areas with historically disenfranchised populations.
While Tuesday’s briefing underscored how the Trump administration is already attempting to cast doubts and stoke conspiracies around the upcoming midterms, it also served to highlight the ACLU’s dedication to protecting the right to vote and its readiness to defend that right should it be infringed upon–whether at the local, state or national level.
