Elections

The Republican Plan To Nationalize Elections Is Performative Nonsense

There is no voting crisis that demands federal intervention.

Steven Greenhut | 4.3.2026 7:30 AM

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During my younger days as a soccer dad, I got to watch the variety of ways that people handled the inevitable wins and losses. The trophy my daughter won after a big championship game is packed in a box somewhere in the garage, but the memories remain. Life is about more than winning—and indeed most people involved in the games were good sports.

But I remember some teams for which winning was everything. Their players would punch, kick, and trip our players whenever the referees weren't looking. The coaches constantly intimidated the refs. What's the likelihood that one's team is right on every single call? Not high, but these competitors never conceded anything. That experience reminds me of the modern Republican approach to elections.

Under Donald Trump's leadership, the GOP's outlook is simple: Every election they win is a reflection of the will of the people. Every election they lose is rigged. The president never conceded the 2020 election, nor apologized for the January 6 Capitol attack. That was the result of angry partisans taking seriously Trump's bogus election-fraud claims. Trump continues to push the tiresome rigged-election narrative even though he failed to win the dozens of court cases making such claims.

Lately,........

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