2020 Elections

Why Trump Can’t Just Decree Changes to Voting by Mail: Former Federal Judge Explains How the President’s EO Is ‘a Solution Looking for a Problem’

PUBLISHED 4/30/2026 by and

John Jones knows about voter suppression. Currently the president of Dickinson College, Jones—nominated in 2002 by President George W. Bush and confirmed unanimously by the U.S. Senate—served for almost two decades as a federal court judge.

In that role, Jones presided over a case, filed just prior to the November 2020 presidential election, in which a conservative legal foundation sued Pennsylvania’s top election official, alleging that she had allowed 21,000 dead people to remain on the voter rolls. The group asked Jones to stop those people from voting.

Jones denied the request.

“… At the now infamous Four Seasons landscaping press conference, Rudy Giuliani was waving my decision in the air and decrying the fact that dead people voted in Pennsylvania. That was simply not true.”

In this interview with The Conversation‘s politics and legal affairs editor Naomi Schalit, Jones discusses President Donald Trump’s March 31, 2026, executive order to wrest control of mail-in voting from states and give it to the U.S. Postal Service and the Department of Homeland Security; how the constitutional design of U.S. voting bars such federal control; and how Trump’s order would disenfranchise voters and is now the subject of lawsuits by voting rights groups and 23 states.

Inside Trump’s Effort to ‘Take Over’ the Midterm Election

PUBLISHED 4/13/2026 by and

In the final weeks of the 2020 election, as Donald Trump’s false claims of fraud intensified, a small group of federal officials found themselves in a windowless room at the Justice Department confronting a question that could test the limits of American democracy: Had the vote really been hacked?

The answer, delivered by cybersecurity experts and backed by the FBI, was clear: No. What had happened in Antrim County, Mich., was a clerical error, not a conspiracy.

Attorney General William Barr understood the truth, and also the cost of telling it. Days later, he would resign.

That moment—one of many in which career officials resisted pressure to overturn the election—helped preserve the outcome of the 2020 vote.

But as reporting shows, the people and institutional guardrails that held the line then have largely disappeared. Across the Justice Department, Homeland Security and beyond, dozens of officials have been pushed out or reassigned, replaced by loyalists—many with ties to efforts to reverse the last election—now positioned to influence how future ones are run.

With the 2026 midterms approaching and Trump openly calling for Republicans to “take over” the elections, experts warn the system faces an unprecedented stress test. What was once a series of last-minute efforts to overturn results has evolved into something more systematic: a reshaping of the federal government itself, one that some fear is designed to ensure elections go the president’s way.

Democracy Is Not Self-Executing: How We Shape a Better Government Through Laws, Institutions and Culture

PUBLISHED 2/27/2026 by

Weekend Reading on Women’s Representation is a compilation of stories about women’s representation in politics, on boards, in sports and entertainment, in judicial offices and in the private sector in the U.S. and around the world—with a little gardening and goodwill mixed in for refreshment!

This week:
—The SAVE Act would block women, young people and low-income people from voting.
—Crowded Illinois primaries call for ranked-choice voting.
—The American women’s hockey team wins gold at the Winter Olympics in Milan.
—An election in Denmark could extend women’s leadership

… and more.

With Democracy at Stake, It’s No Time to Bring a Knife to a Gun Fight

PUBLISHED 8/6/2025 by | UPDATED 10/30/2025 at 7:56 A.M. PT

Trump and his Republican allies are manipulating the democratic process to rig the 2026 and 2028 elections—and unless Democrats are prepared to respond forcefully, they risk losing far more than congressional seats.

This is not a moment for procedural purity or political hesitation. As history shows, the outcome—the preservation of democracy—is the test of the act.

I Asked Top Election Experts About 2024 Tampering Claims. Here’s What They Said.

PUBLISHED 6/27/2025 by | UPDATED 7/2/2025 at 9:16 A.M. PT

In recent weeks, a wave of rumors has surfaced online suggesting the 2024 election may have been “stolen” or, more specifically, tampered with due to faulty machines. While many of these claims remain vague or speculative, some are beginning to gain traction across social media platforms and alternative news sites. 

In the interest of democracy, transparency and election security, I reached out to a group of leading experts—many of whom work at the intersection of voting rights, cybersecurity and public trust—to share two examples of the kinds of articles I’ve seen on this topic, and ask for their take.

What follows are responses from some of the country’s most experienced voices on election integrity. Their insights are a valuable reminder that while election systems are not perfect, there is currently no credible evidence supporting claims of widespread vote manipulation in 2024. Instead, these experts highlight what’s real, what’s theoretical and where our attention should actually be focused as we work to protect democracy.

Trump Using AI Images of Taylor Swift Highlights a New Era of Election Disinformation

PUBLISHED 8/22/2024 by

On Sunday, former President Donald Trump shared multiple fake images of mostly young, White blond women clutching iced coffees wearing “Swifties for Trump” T-shirts.

Swift had not endorsed Trump, but he declared “I accept!” in his post, implying that maybe she had. The message couldn’t be further from the truth, as the pop star made her support for the Biden-Harris campaign clear in 2020 and tweeted at Trump “We will vote you out in November.”

Inside Project 2025’s Secret Training Videos

PUBLISHED 8/13/2024 by and

Project 2025’s plan to train an army of political appointees who could battle against the so-called deep state government bureaucracy on behalf of a future Trump administration remains on track.

Dozens of never-before-published videos coach future appointees on everything from the nuts and bolts of governing, to how to outwit bureaucrats. There are strategies for avoiding embarrassing Freedom of Information Act disclosures and ensuring that conservative policies aren’t struck down by “left-wing judges.” Some of the content is routine advice that any incoming political appointee might be told. Other segments of the training offer guidance on radically changing how the federal government works and what it does.

Trump’s Appeal to Nostalgia Deliberately Evokes America’s More Racist, More Sexist Past

PUBLISHED 7/19/2024 by

There’s a reason Donald Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign is working hard to evoke nostalgia: People who are nostalgic—meaning, people who long for America’s “good old days”—were more likely to vote for Republican candidates in the 2022 midterm elections.

Trump’s nostalgia is more than simple retrospection. Trump’s appeal isn’t just about a better economic past or a more stable society. It serves as an evocation of a time in America when women and minorities had less power.

Men Need a New Narrative. The Future of U.S. Democracy Depends on It

PUBLISHED 4/25/2024 by

Regressive ideas about manhood underlie the anti-democracy movement plaguing the U.S. Men whose politics are to the left of center can do their part to counteract the right’s success in playing identity politics with white male voters.

Here’s where we start.

(This article originally appears in the Spring 2024 issue of Ms. Join the Ms. community today and you’ll get issues delivered straight to your mailbox!)