With a flurry of executive and federal actions recently, President Donald Trump has indicated that he plans to use the full scope of presidential authority to help Republicans hold on to Congress in the 2026 US midterm elections. While some of his moves are typical political strategies, others appear to be breaking new ground, all while raising serious questions about the future of American democracy.
Aggressive Redistricting and Election Tactics
Trump has been pushing Republican lawmakers, especially in Texas, to redraw congressional maps to create more GOP-friendly districts. Reports suggest Texas Republicans could gain up to five additional seats if the plan succeeds, with similar efforts underway in Indiana and Missouri.
Political scientist Larry Diamond of Stanford University told The Associated Press, “It’s the overall pattern that’s alarming and that the reason to do this is for pure partisan advantage.” Diamond further said that rigging electoral processes is a hallmark step toward autocracy.
Meanwhile, California Democrats are working on their own redistricting to counterbalance Texas’s moves.
DOJ Investigations and Voter Data Demands
The Trump-led Department of Justice (DOJ) has taken the unusual step of investigating ActBlue, the main fundraising platform for Democrats, per AP. Republicans launched their own similar platform, WinRed, although it has not faced similar scrutiny.
The DOJ, the report said, has also demanded voter registration files from at least 19 US states, aiming to identify ineligible voters.
According to the report, letters threatening legal action were sent to California and Minnesota officials last week, though neither state has publicly responded.
Trump’s Controversial Voting Machine and Mail Ballot Claims
In a recent social media post, Trump vowed to lead a movement to outlaw voting machines and mail-in ballots, which he claims undermine democracy, despite no evidence suggesting widespread fraud.
During a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Trump had said, “you can never have a real democracy with mail-in ballots.”
These moves come after Trump’s earlier executive order requiring proof of citizenship to register to vote, most of which has been blocked by American courts.
Alarms Raised by Democracy Watchdogs
“Those are actions that you don’t see in healthy democracies. Those are actions you see in authoritarian states,” AP quoted Ian Bassin, executive director of the nonpartisan group Protect Democracy, as saying.
Bassin also warned that Trump’s past attempt to overturn the 2020 election “shows this is a person who will use every measure and try every tactic to stay in power, regardless of the outcome of an election.”
Limited Presidential Power Over Elections
Noting that election rules are mostly set by states and Congress, effectively limiting what a president can do, experts say Trump still has fewer legal checks over things like criminal probes and law enforcement actions, which could affect elections indirectly.
