As Trump & Republicans Wage Assault On Free And Fair Elections, Leader Schumer, Senate Democrats, & Top Elections Experts Gear Up To Combat Key Election Threats

Building On Their Newly Announced Election Protection Task Force, Senate Democrats Met With Top Election Experts To Prepare For Attacks On Midterms

Senators Strategized Response To Threats Including Foreign Interference, DHS Agent Deployment, & Ballot Seizures

Schumer: "Democracy Is On The Line. Democrats Are Going To Fight Like Hell To Make Sure Our Elections Belong To The Voters - Not Donald Trump."

Washington, D.C. - Today, Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), the Senate Democrats' Election Protection Task Force, and key election experts stress-tested responses to several key threats to the 2026 midterms.

Today, Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Senate Democrats' Election Protection Task Force convened with key election experts including former Attorney General Eric Holder, Marc Elias of the Elias Law Group, Ian Bassin of Protect Democracy, Skye Perryman of Democracy Forward, and election law expert Norm Eisen. During the Task Force meeting, the Senators and experts stress-tested responses to several key threats to the 2026 midterms, including foreign interference and misinformation, the deployment of federal agents to polling places, and law enforcement agents seizing ballots from local election officials. This was the second meeting of the Senate Democrats' new Election Protection Task Force, which Leader Schumer launched in April.

"Trump and Republicans are hellbent on rigging our elections and undermining our democracy. Democrats won't let that happen," said Leader Schumer. "Our Election Protection Task Force, the most expansive effort to date to protect the 2026 midterms, is readying for the threats we know are coming - and today we gamed out how we can thwart them before Republicans can undermine our free and fair elections. Democrats will be ready with lawyers and response teams to respond the moment Trump or his allies try to interfere with our elections. Democracy is on the line. Democrats are going to fight like hell to make sure our elections belong to the voters - not Donald Trump."

As the Republican agenda grows more unpopular due to a worsening affordability crisis and rampant Trump corruption, the Trump administration has worked to disrupt free and fair elections and tip the scales toward Republicans ahead of the midterms. Trump has said he'll deploy an "election integrity army" to polling places across the country and is making it harder to vote-by-mail. His Justice Department sought to seize state voter rolls. FBI agents and the Director of National Intelligence raided election offices in Georgia. Republicans pressed election officials in Arizona to turn over documents. Poll workers are being threatened nationwide.

Over the coming weeks and months, the Senators' Task Force will continue to announce additional steps in the fight to safeguard the right to vote and ensure that every American has fair access to the ballot box this November.

"With the midterm elections well underway, we need to be ready on every front to deal with MAGA election deniers' slimy playbook, from misleading artificial intelligence ads to the Trump Administration's illegal intimidation of voters and election officials. Democrats are taking an all-options approach to ensure our elections are fair and free," said U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

"President Trump's approval rating is in the tank and he's bringing Republicans down with him. The President has tried to overturn an election before, so the country needs to be prepared to defend the election process to keep the midterms free and fair," said Senator Whitehouse.

"We have to take Trump at his word when he threatens to 'take over' our elections and compromise the integrity of our democracy. Today's tabletop exercise offered a sobering look at the lengths President Trump and his allies and cronies could go to disrupt free and fair elections, and it underscored the coordinated effort that will be necessary to stop him and protect our democracy. The exercise reinforced a simple but critical truth: no institution can defend our democracy alone. Preventing Trump from carrying out illegal efforts to subvert our elections will require public servants, civil society, elected officials from both parties, and ordinary citizens to stand together and refuse to let him succeed," said Sen. Mark R. Warner, Vice Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence.

"The Trump Administration is leading a coordinated campaign to undermine our nation's elections. This tabletop exercise demonstrates the importance of anticipating potential threats at the polls so we are prepared to respond to threats ahead of this year's upcoming elections. The right to vote is a bedrock of our democracy, and I am committed now more than ever to protecting fair and free elections for all Americans," said Senator Blumenthal.

"As millions of Americans exercised their right to vote yesterday, Donald Trump and his MAGA allies were working overtime - not to make life better for families who are struggling to make ends meet, but scheming to silence the voices of countless voters across the country. They have already moved to seize ballots, purge eligible voters from the rolls, dismantle the core protections of the Voting Rights Act, and now handed control of America's most sensitive national security apparatus to a Trump loyalist whose only qualification is his willingness to do Trump's bidding, including election interference. Between now and the November midterms, we expect these attacks will only intensify. That is exactly why this task force exists. We will fight back in the Senate, in the courts, and in the states, and we will ensure that Donald Trump can't 'takeover' our elections. Our democracy is not his to take," said Senator Padilla.

"Donald Trump and his enablers are not hiding their intention to interfere in the upcoming midterm elections - indeed they are already working to suppress the vote - and our Task Force is preparing for all the contingencies. In the specific scenario that I proposed for today, we confronted how this administration's weaponization of federal law enforcement - including ICE or CBP - could be used to intimidate voters and depress turnout. This and the other scenarios we workshopped today will help ensure readiness across the country to confront these threats, combat attacks on our elections, and identify any gaps in our democracy's defenses," said Senator Schiff.

"From the introduction of the SAVE Act to the gutting of the landmark Voting Rights Act, Washington Republicans are leading an unprecedented attack on the integrity of our elections," said Senator Blunt Rochester. "Today's exercise was a critical opportunity to consider each of the challenges we may face ahead of the Midterm elections and ensure we are prepared to address them head-on."

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