Defending Democracy with Marc Elias

Donald Trump just did something extraordinary on stage at the RNC convention: he made Republicans raise their right hand and pledge to him personally — then pledge that they're going to "cheat like hell," whether they're registered to vote or not. Democracy Docket founder Marc Elias breaks down why this moment matters and why it confirms what he's been warning for months: Trump's plan for the midterms isn't to win a fair fight, it's to make it harder for you to vote and easier for Republicans to cheat.

A federal judge in Washington, D.C. — appointed by Donald Trump — just blocked the U.S. Postal Service's new mail-in voting rule, delivering another major setback to the administration's effort to restrict how Americans vote just 50 days before the midterms. Democracy Docket founder Marc Elias breaks down the ruling in DSCC v. Trump, handed down late Sunday by Judge Carl Nichols. This ruling is separate from the related mail-in voting case out of Massachusetts, which is still pending before the Supreme Court. Marc walks through how the two cases differ, what a Trump appeal could look like next and what voters need to know as ballots start going out.

Donald Trump's Department of Justice just admitted, in its own words, what we have been saying for months: the U.S. Postal Service's new mail-in ballot rule could strip millions of Americans of their ability to vote by mail. In a brief filed with the U.S. Supreme Court, the DOJ acknowledged there is a "grave risk" that states won't be ready to comply if the rule takes effect for this year's midterms. Democracy Docket founder Marc Elias breaks down the sentence buried in DOJ's filing, what it reveals about the Trump administration's real strategy and why the rule's barcode-matching system could cause tens of thousands of eligible voters to be rejected over a single mismatched name.

[11:35 AM]Less than two months before Election Day, Democracy Docket founder Marc Elias lays out Donald Trump's blueprint to rig the 2026 midterms. An executive order could put the U.S. Postal Service in charge of deciding whether mail-in ballots get delivered at all. The Department of Justice has lost 23 straight lawsuits trying to seize state voter data. A rule change could disenfranchise thousands of voters over a single mismatched name, and a Postal Service slowdown is already increasing ballot rejection rates in this year's primaries. DOJ's seizure of ballots in Fulton County and Maricopa County looks less like an isolated fight over 2020 and more like a dry run for something bigger. Federal law enforcement at the polls is no longer an abstract threat.

Marc Elias sits down with Skye Perryman, President and CEO of Democracy Forward, for a wide-ranging conversation on the state of democracy under the second Trump administration.

A bombshell whistleblower complaint, submitted to Sen. Richard Blumenthal's office, reveals that the U.S. Postal Service allegedly kept building a new system to restrict mail-in ballots even after federal courts ordered it to stop it. Democracy Docket founder Marc Elias breaks down the two major allegations: that USPS defied court orders while developing its new "Federal Ballot Mail Portal," and that the system is designed with a "zero percent failure rate" — meaning if just one ballot in a batch of thousands can't be verified, the entire batch gets rejected and sent back, potentially disenfranchising voters over a single mismatched name or address.

With just over 60 days until the midterms, Donald Trump is still trying to weaponize the U.S. Postal Service against mail-in voters. Democracy Docket founder Marc Elias breaks down the legal fight playing out in federal courts in Massachusetts and Washington, D.C., including a temporary restraining order that's now being appealed. He also reads directly from the Department of Justice's own court filings, in which lawyers compare mail-in ballots to overweight packages, cremated remains and fake bombs to justify blocking them.

The Department of Justice just made a major move to restore a U.S. Postal Service rule that could cripple mail-in voting in the 2026 midterms. Marc Elias, founder of Democracy Docket, walks through where this fast-moving litigation stands, how we got here and what's coming that you're not hearing about anywhere else.

In a major win for free and fair elections, a federal judge blocked the U.S. Postal Service from enforcing key parts of Donald Trump’s anti-mail voting order. In this episode, Democracy Docket founder Marc Elias breaks down Judge Indira Talwani’s critical ruling and reveals how it will impact the midterm elections. Plus, Marc explains why Trump’s refusal to accept the 2020 election results is at the heart of the battles we’re fighting today.

The Supreme Court just ruled that legal challenges to Donald Trump's anti-voting executive order were filed too soon, but the fight is just getting started. The U.S. Postal Service has since finalized a rule that could block your mail-in ballot unless your state hands over sensitive voter data to the federal government. In this episode, Democracy Docket's Marc Elias breaks down where the fight is headed next, from courts in Massachusetts and Washington, D.C., to another likely showdown at the Supreme Court, and why Trump's own side built the legal doctrines that could end up sinking the rule. Plus, what's at stake for the 2026 midterms if it isn't stopped.

The Supreme Court has sided with the Trump administration, allowing its executive order targeting mail-in voting to move forward ahead of the 2026 midterms. In this episode, Democracy Docket founder Marc Elias breaks down the conservative majority’s ruling and their claim that the potential harm was "speculative." Plus, he calls out the major contradiction at the center of the case: while the court ruled the suit was premature, the Postal Service went ahead and finalized the very restrictions state officials warned about.

Just over 70 days before the midterms, Donald Trump's Postal Service quietly issued a final rule on mail-in voting late Friday night. Buried inside it, USPS compares your mail ballot to cremated human remains and fake explosives. Yes, you read that right. Democracy Docket founder Marc Elias breaks down how we got here and explains what happens next as the rule heads toward taking effect on August 26 and the fight continues at both the Supreme Court and in Massachusetts federal court.

Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon just announced the Justice Department will deploy 1,000 election observers for the midterms. The DOJ wants you to think this is business as usual, but Democracy Docket founder Marc Elias breaks down why this deployment is anything but and how it's laying the groundwork for what comes after Election Day. Meanwhile, it's no surprise the announcement comes the same day the DOJ lost its 23rd straight court case over access to sensitive voter data. Plus, where are these 1,000 monitors actually coming from?

With less than 90 days until the 2026 midterm elections, Trump may have finally found a lawyer with no limits — and Todd Blanche is only getting started. In this episode of "Election Watch," Democracy Docket founder Marc Elias breaks down Todd Blanche's confirmation as attorney general and why he compares Blanche to Trump's ruthless former lawyer, Roy Cohn. Plus some good news: the Department of Justice is now 0-21 in court battles over access to state voter files. He also covers the Save Act's failure in the Senate, the Supreme Court's pending ruling on Trump's mail-in ballot order and why Ross Douthat's farewell New York Times column got it backward.

After a victory for Colorado voters, the DOJ is now 0-20 in the voter roll cases -- and we are winning. In this episode, Marc Elias breaks down the Trump administration's yearlong effort to build a national voter database, why federal judges (including eight appointed by Trump) have unanimously rejected the DOJ's demands, and why today's 90-day "quiet period" deadline may have shut the door on Trump's scheme just in time for the midterms.

Todd Blanche went from well-respected Wall Street lawyer to Trump crony. And now, he’s about to lose his dream job as attorney general. Marc Elias, founder of Democracy Docket, explains what makes Blanche so dangerous, how he is jeopardizing his Senate confirmation to protect Trump’s slush fund, and why we can’t let the legacy media shift the Overton window on Trump’s nominees.

If we want democracy to survive, here’s what we need to understand: Donald Trump is actually acting normal. Marc Elias, founder of Democracy Docket, explains the important distinction between abnormal and immoral, why the courts should do away with the presumption of regularity, and what Democrats need to do to create a better, moral “new normal.”

Democracy Docket founder Marc Elias introduces "Election Watch: Countdown to the 2026 Midterms," a new weekly series breaking down what's really at stake ahead of November. In Episode 1, Marc lays out Trump's three-part strategy to subvert the election: suppressing Democratic votes, manipulating voter data to disqualify voters and using false fraud claims to challenge results.

Earlier this year, Texas quietly admitted to the federal government that non-citizens had been mistakenly registered to vote there due to clerical errors, the same kind of mistake now fueling outrage over New Jersey. Democracy Docket founder Marc Elias breaks down what actually happened in both states, why neither is proof of the voter fraud conspiracy Republicans are selling, and why the SAVE Act and voter ID laws wouldn't have stopped either error.

Democracy Docket founder Marc Elias breaks down why elections are a game of inches, and why the GOP's real 2026 strategy is making it harder to vote and easier to cheat. He walks through the RNC's own lawsuit admitting late mail ballots favor Democrats, the Supreme Court's 5-4 ruling against them, and another win in Kansas protecting mail voters. We can't get complacent. Only 19 states protect these ballots, and a lot is on the line before November. Join our subreddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/DemocracyDocket/