Trump’s electoral assault is just getting started

Hours after Virginia voters approved a redistricting referendum on April 22, President Trump declared that the election had been “rigged.” 

“All day long Republicans are winning,” he claimed, “until the very end when, of course, there was a ‘massive mail-in ballot Drop!’ … and the Democrats eked out another crooked victory!” 

Trump’s baseless allegations of fraud, issued every time Republicans lose, are part of a comprehensive strategy to stack the deck in his favor.

Under the Constitution, states — not the president — have primary authority over the “times, places and manner” of elections. Yet the Trump administration has increasingly sought to override state control, alter voting rules and suppress turnout, especially among groups likely to vote Democratic.

Supporters insist these efforts are needed to ensure election integrity. But courts, audits and election officials have repeatedly found no evidence to support claims of fraud beyond a few isolated instances that had no effect on election outcomes. 

The real threat to free and fair elections comes from Trump’s efforts, as then-Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem put it, “to make sure we have the right people voting, electing the right leaders to lead this country.”

In 2025, the Department of Justice demanded that nearly every state and the District of Columbia provide voter registration rolls, ballots from recent elections, driver’s license records, partial Social Security numbers, and access to voting equipment. The administration warned that the information would be shared with the Department of Homeland Security. The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division has sued some 30 states and the District of Columbia for refusing to comply.

The administration has also seized ballots and launched investigations into........

© The Hill