By Diamond Brown and Jonathan Barry-Blocker
With the midterm elections just days away, the Trump administration and its allies have made one thing exhaustingly clear: They are willing to go to extraordinary lengths to make Americans question whether they can safely cast a ballot.
In just the past week, the Justice Department sought to block thousands of mail ballots in California. The Supreme Court’s renewed review of Washington’s congressional maps reignited concerns about fair representation and the political power of historically underrepresented communities. And in North Carolina, state election officials recently had to debunk a false claim that ballots become invalid when election workers write on them. In reality, those markings are part of workers’ official duties and do not invalidate a vote.
These actions and viral moments risk sowing fear and skepticism. Convince enough people that the system is broken, that their vote will not count, or that showing up might expose them to intimidation, and many will decide the juice isn’t worth the squeeze.
We won’t trivialize the unprecedented challenges facing our democracy. Relentless efforts to obtain sensitive voter information, restrict long-standing voting methods, and expand federal authority over state-run elections deserve serious scrutiny, especially because voting is already underway and efforts to sabotage our right to vote are intensifying.
But the commotion surrounding our elections should not be mistaken for the reality of our elections. Across the nation, democracy is already in motion. Voters are casting early ballots at record-setting numbers in Georgia and North Carolina. Elections officials are preparing polling places. Courts are actively halting partisan challenges to our elections processes. The safeguards that protect our elections remain operative, and all lawful voting options remain readily available.
Perhaps no better example illustrates the effort to cast doubt on our elections than the relentless attacks on voting by mail. This administration’s unfounded obsession with restricting mail voting–efforts courts have repeatedly blocked–continue to wreak havoc on one of our secure and widely used methods of voting. The backbone of these restrictions is the repeated, largely meritless allegation of widespread mail-voting fraud. We can’t accept this misinformation as true nor allow it to convince us that a lawful voting method has suddenly vanished. States have adequate guardrails in place to ensure this isn’t the case. Ranging from eligibility checks, ballot tracking, unique identifiers, and protections against duplicate voting. Though the exact procedures vary state by state, these safeguards are in place to ensure only eligible voters can cast ballots.
Yet the administration continues to treat this established voting method as a national emergency. The irony is hard to miss. The president, who has repeatedly voted by mail himself, wants Americans to believe that the method cannot be trusted. The hypocrisy would almost be comical if the repercussions were not so consequential.
For millions, voting by mail is not just about convenience. It is what makes their participation possible. Nearly one-third of Americans voted by mail in the 2022 and 2024 elections. These voters came from different political parties, generations, and communities. Consider the senior citizen who cannot travel to a polling place, the hourly worker who cannot afford to miss a shift, the voter with a disability who needs an accessible way to cast a ballot, or the military service member stationed overseas. Their right to vote should not depend on whether the president approves of how they cast their ballot.
Mail ballots aren’t the only target. Voting machines have become the subject of repeated allegations that can leave Americans wondering whether their votes will be recorded correctly. Most voters use systems that produce paper records. Those records allow officials to conduct audits, recounts, and independent checks. Election administrators also frequently rely on equipment testing, secure ballot handling, and post-election verification.
No system is entirely immune from risk. Threats of interference, intimidation, cyberattacks, or mishandling of election materials require vigilance. But hypothetical threats do not make our elections unsafe. Nor does it mean that voters should abandon the process.
The opposite is true. It’s worth remembering that our struggle for voting rights has never been linear. Americans have fought for more than a century and a half to secure and expand access to the ballot, often against extraordinary resistance.
Women organized for generations to secure the right. Black Americans confronted violence and intimidation meant to deny them political power. Civil rights champions marched, registered voters, challenged injustice, and secured the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Our victories were not gifts from those in power. They were the product of ordinary people insisting that democracy must live up to its promises.
Today, 47 states and the District of Columbia offer at least one option for voting before Election Day, whether through early in-person voting or mail ballots. This progress reflects years of work to make voting more accessible to people whose jobs, family responsibilities, disabilities, or other circumstances can make voting on a single Tuesday difficult. It should be a reminder that despite attempts to roll back voting access, the infrastructure supporting participation remains intact.
Whether you cast your ballot early in person, vote by mail, use an authorized ballot drop box, or head to your polling place on Election Day, lawful and safe mechanisms remain available under state-specific rules. The most important thing you can do is know your options and make a plan. Check your registration. Confirm your polling place and voting hours. Review identification requirements and deadlines. If you vote by mail, carefully follow the return instructions and track your ballot when possible. If issues arise, contact your local election office.
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: an electorate that knows its rights, knows the facts, and shows up.
Diamond Brown is the Senior Counsel & Policy Strategist at Democracy Defenders Action. Jonathan Barry-Blocker is a Senior Policy Counsel at Democracy Defenders Action.
