Trump’s Target of the Day: Your Ballot
ALSO INSIDE: Tens of thousands took part in a day of action to “Fight the Trump Takeover"
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Since day one of Trump’s political career, people have desperately attempted to normalize his absurd abuses of power and blatant corruption – and 10 years later, much of corporate media remains a victim of their own attempts to return to a sense of normalcy.
It’s time to stop sane-washing the insanity.
What Happened
President Donald Trump woke up this morning and chose chaos. He kicked off the week by spreading more lies about U.S. elections, pledging to “lead a movement to get rid of MAIL-IN BALLOTS” and voting machines altogether. He claimed he would issue an executive order banning both ahead of the 2026 midterm elections—a move that would disproportionately suppress Democratic voters, who typically rely on mail-in ballots more than Republicans.
On Truth Social, he wrote: “ELECTIONS CAN NEVER BE HONEST WITH MAIL IN BALLOTS/VOTING, and everybody, IN PARTICULAR THE DEMOCRATS, KNOWS THIS. I, AND THE REPUBLICAN PARTY, WILL FIGHT LIKE HELL TO BRING HONESTY AND INTEGRITY BACK TO OUR ELECTIONS.”
Despite the fact that each of the 50 U.S. states independently administers its own elections, Trump sent a message to state officials reminding them they are “merely an ‘agent’ for the Federal Government in counting and tabulating the votes”—insisting they would be required to follow his directive. Reminder- while he can bully them, this is not true.
Attempts to Sanewash
Though Trump himself has voted by mail in the past, he has spent years pushing the baseless lie that mail-in ballots were used to “steal” elections. His so-called solution—reversing decades of progress to return to paper ballots and hand-counts—has been widely dismissed by election officials, who warn that the process would be slower, more expensive, and far less accurate than current machines used.
The truth: mail-in and absentee voting are a critical part of American elections. Roughly 30% of voters cast their ballots by mail in 2024. This number is down from the 43% who did so in 2020, when the pandemic made in-person voting more difficult and mail-in voting played an instrumental role in allowing our elections to take place. Trump’s attempt to erase mail-in voting isn’t about “integrity.” It’s about restricting access to the ballot box and making it harder for millions of Americans to make their voices heard.
Far-Right Spin
Republicans have increasingly targeted absentee and mail-in voting because they directly undercut one of their most powerful tools: restricting access to the ballot box. Mail-in ballots make voting more inclusive by eliminating many of the barriers that keep people from casting a ballot in person—whether it’s voters with disabilities or chronic illnesses, working parents who can’t take time off on Election Day, rural communities far from polling places, or even members of the military and Americans overseas. By giving people more flexibility, more time to research candidates, and shorter lines at polling places, mail-in voting opens up the democratic process to groups who are often left out. Historically, Democrats have relied more heavily on vote-by-mail than Republicans, which is one reason the GOP has pushed so hard to delegitimize and restrict it. Attempts to ban or limit absentee and mail-in voting are ultimately a form of voter suppression because the fewer options people have to cast their ballot, the harder it becomes for many to participate at all.
Tens of thousands show up to protest Trump’s extreme redistricting efforts
This past Saturday, tens of thousands of people took to the streets in more than 200 “Fight the Trump Takeover” rallies held across 34 states. This coordinated day of action was a clear show of resistance to the Trump administration’s extreme redistricting efforts in Texas and beyond, and a continued reminder of the action everyday people are taking to organize and fight back.
Over 5000 people showed up to the demonstration in Austin, Texas, the heart of the movement, to hear speeches from former Texas Congressman Beto O’Rourke, United Farm Workers cofounder Dolores Huerta, Rep. Greg Casar, Rep. Lloyd Doggett, and many local activists. From big cities to small towns, Americans turned out in force to say loud and clear: we won’t sit back while our democracy is dismantled.
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