As I write this, I’m packing my bags and my briefs (the legal kind). Next week, I’ll be in federal court in California to help argue against Donald Trump’s latest effort to sabotage our elections: his efforts to disrupt California voting using a demonstrably junky list of 20,000 supposed unauthorized voters. What rubbish! My pro-democracy litigation colleagues and I defeated Trump’s prior election-denial initiatives, and we will vanquish this one as well. Indeed, I think he knows he’s going to lose here and in his other crazy lawsuits, including the one he just filed in Alaska. He is doing all this for one reason alone: to lay the foundation for his post-election sour grapes.
Let’s begin with California before we head up north to Alaska. Last week, while voting was already underway, Trump’s Department of Justice demanded that Los Angeles County set aside and refuse to count the ballots of more than 20,000 people it claimed were ineligible to vote. The evidence? A thumb drive full of names, assembled using opaque methods and unreliable citizenship data that the administration has refused to explain. The county tested a sampling of the data on the list and proved it was unreliable.
When California declined to play along, the DOJ sued the state — and now we’re fighting back. We at Democracy Defenders Fund (DDF), alongside our wonderful partners at the Campaign Legal Center, are intervening on behalf of LULAC and the NAACP to ensure eligible voters aren’t disenfranchised based on bogus allegations. In our filings in the case, we explain why Trump will lose, including because the law does not allow you to sit on these issues and then come swooping in weeks before an election. There is a hearing in the case on Tuesday, but that is not fast enough for the DOJ, which is asking the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to rule before then.
Either way, the DOJ is going to lose. But the case is about a whole lot more than just those 20,000-plus voters or the applicable law. It’s about a rogue administration trying to manufacture suspicion around legitimate votes, sow chaos in the run-up to an election, and lay the groundwork to challenge results it doesn’t like. That’s why we and the other lawyers in the case are waging the fight to stop this in court. And that is why we, with many others, are working around the clock to protect Americans’ right to vote from coast to coast.
My election-protection work in this and so many other cases is enabled by the generous and enduring support of our paid Contrarian subscribers. If you already are one, thank you for helping sustain what we do. If you haven’t yet subscribed, please consider doing so to support our efforts as the election fast approaches.
In other California news, Trump’s DOJ has gone beyond the initial letter to Los Angeles County and reportedly sent letters to counties across the state, making the same unfounded claims and threatening criminal prosecution if its baseless demands are not met. To prove it means it, the DOJ has also charged 28 California residents with alleged election-related crimes. Note that this is a small fraction of the over 20,000 claimed in the civil lawsuit and it appears to have swept in some innocent voters. That and the timing of the charges makes clear that, like the civil case, the motive is to intimidate voters.
All of that is atrocious, but Trump’s new Alaska lawsuit is even less meritorious, if you can believe it. His favored GOP senatorial candidate, Dan Sullivan, is on the ballot with somebody else named Daniel Sullivan. The administration has sued, seeking to block the certification if GOP Dan Sullivan loses, and Trump is proudly taking credit for the idea. The lawsuit is utterly meritless because there is no law that allows Trump to file this kind of a case. On the contrary, these kinds of election issues are the province of the state, and the Alaska Supreme Court has already ruled that both candidates can be on the ballot. Certification is also a state issue. The case is a dead loser.
What is causing this freakout in the courts? Perhaps it’s early-voting numbers.
Despite the ongoing attempts at election sabotage and voter intimidation by Trump and his cronies, voters are already turning out in dramatic fashion for this midterm. As of this morning, the early vote was more than 25 million people and counting — setting records across the country. In Texas, for example, early voting is up 74 percent from 2022; in Kansas, it’s more than doubled. Early-voting data from key states also points to strong Democratic enthusiasm, building on a wave of increased Democratic participation in primaries across the country earlier this year. Of course, there is still a ways to go until Election Day, but these early signs are encouraging and should motivate us all to vote and to urge our family, friends, and neighbors to do the same. Every vote counts.
Whatever the cause of the Trump DOJ’s panicked meddling, we’re not going to let it happen. Last week, I shared a Washington Post column talking about the success of our legal resistance pushing back against Trump’s sweeping campaign to change the rules of the 2026 midterms. This week, the Financial Times detailed how hundreds of lawyers across the country are gearing up for the election. The article highlighted that DDF has enlisted more than a dozen national law firms to support our election-protection strategy, with draft legal complaints prepared and ready to file at a moment’s notice.
Of course it’s not just my colleagues at DDF and DDA. Many others around the country are launching their most ambitious efforts yet. LULAC launched its largest-ever in-house voter-protection initiative. The ACLU also launched a historic election-safeguarding effort and has poured millions into voter education initiatives across the country. Common Cause launched its 2026 Election Protection program, mobilizing thousands of volunteers and legal experts. The list of extraordinary initiatives underway across our pro-democracy ecosystem goes on.
Above all, this coalition includes our state attorneys general. As I told the Guardian in an article about their efforts, I had the privilege of attending two state AG tabletop exercises and some of their online meetings. In all of my years working with the state AGs, I have never seen such preparedness, particularly for midterm elections. Trump is up against all of that — and all of you. That’s because your paid Contrarian subscriptions help make possible all of my legal work as well as the amazing journalism every week. Here’s my weekly roundup, so you can see for yourself.
Midterm watch (and beyond)
They Want Us to Fear the Ballot. We Can’t Give Them That Victory.
Diamond Brown and Jonathan Barry-Blocker wrote on the Trump regime’s desperate lengths to make Americans question whether they can safely cast a ballot — and how not to let them fool us. “The people trying to make voting harder are counting on confusion to do some of their work for them. Let’s give them something else to worry about.”
Words & Phrases: ‘Independent’?
Jennifer Rubin wrote on Sen. Susan Collins’s long-held “Independent Mainer” brand, under which is a far more apt label: coward. “Pick a topic — the Iran war, ICE funding, Kash Patel’s nomination, etc. — and Collins was never ‘independent’ enough to thwart Trump’s agenda.”
Elect Candidates Who Will Ban Presidents from Profiting in Office
Virginia Kase Solomón and Abigail Bellows wrote on a candidate pledge to support the banning of presidential profiteering — like, you know, the fact that Trump made $2.2 billion in 2025 alone. “We need a collective movement of voters to demand accountability from every candidate seeking to represent us.”
Ramaswamy’s Vile Ad Must Not Be Minimized
Shalise Manza Young wrote on the damning shame of Ohio gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy’s line-crossing attack ad against his Democrat opponent, Amy Acton, which involved a shocking dismissal of her account of childhood sexual assault. “In nearly any other timeline … this attack would end Ramaswamy’s bid for governor.”
Did Jon Ossoff Take 2028 off the Table?
Jill Lawrence considered the near-future paths for one of the Democrats’ fastest rising stars. “Ossoff is not trying to be anyone’s nice guy, and he keeps landing lines that get at truths that Democrats are desperate to hear.”
The global view
What Do the Israeli Elections and Houthi Attacks on Saudi Arabia Mean for the U.S.?
Council on Foreign Relations expert Steven Cook joined Jennifer Rubin to break down the recent headlines coming out of the Middle East, including Houthi attacks in Saudi Arabia, Israeli elections, and the latest on Iran. “I think that successive administrations, both Democrats and Republicans, haven’t asked the hard questions about what it is that’s important to the United States in the Middle East.”
Rep. Adam Smith: Trump Should Face Impeachment
Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA) joined Jennifer Rubin to discuss what he says is clearly ethnic cleansing in the West Bank, Trump’s dangerous relationship with Vladimir Putin, and oversight of the Pentagon’s actions in Iran and Venezuela. “It’s all part of Trump being a fascist dictator instead of democratically elected president.”
Brazil’s Election Is About More Than Brazil
Roberto Valadéz wrote on Brazil’s upcoming election, which will either be the greatest coup of a far-right wave across the Americas or see Brazil remain a democratic holdout and key hindrance to the “Donroe Doctrine.” “Security does not require surrendering freedom and prosperity should not depend on a political savior.”
Fighting back
Meta Tried to Censor No Kings. They Only Made Democracy Forces Stronger.
In the wake of Meta suspending the No Kings instagram account without warning and with no feasible explanation, Jennifer Rubin spoke with Indivisible’s Ezra Levin about Meta’s history of cozying up to Trump — and how it makes this year’s push for early voting more important than ever.
The Contrarian Covers the Democracy Movement
This week, we featured last Saturday’s No Kings Vote Early rallies from coast to coast.
As always, Contrarians across the country made us proud! From Florida to Virginia, we were proud of everyone who is taking it to the streets — and the ballot box. Get help organizing from Indivisible, find protests in your area at mobilize.us, and send us your protest photos at submit@contrariannews.org.
Party at the Polls; Become an Election Protector
In this week’s Calls to Actions: ways to turn Election Day into a party for turnout, how we can guard against post-election turmoil, how to join a union day of action, fighting for reproductive freedom, keeping gun control central, and more!
Culture, Cartoons, & Fun Stuff
This week, our cartoonists looked at overlording (The Deep State, Michael de Adder; Tom the Dancing Bug, Ruben Bolling); overstepping (Don’t Tread on Us, Nick Anderson; Clearing the Track, Michael de Adder); and overselling (To the Highest Bidder, Nick Anderson).
A Film over Fifty Years in the Making Has Never Felt More Urgent
Meredith Blake wrote on “Once Upon a Time in Harlem,” a filmed chronicle of a 1972 gathering of luminaries from the Harlem Renaissance that is as historically essential as it is engaging. “It’s a reminder that no movement is a monolith — nor should it aim to be.”
YOU CAN HELP SOMEONE VOTE!
Every new or inexperienced voter has six questions that need answers. Can you help them find the answers? Lots of help here!
https://kathleenweber.substack.com/p/you-can-help-someone-vote
Thanks so much for your great work, Norm, and your positive attitude. Hats off to ACLU, Common Cause and all your partners.