Last weekend, President Trump posted a video telling Republicans to vote by mail. This is the same man who spent years calling mail voting “inherently corrupt.” The same man whose party spent eighteen months trying to kill it via law and illegal executive order. And now, he’s begging his own voting base to use it.
That is not strength. That is desperation. And it is a reaction to the resolve of the big and growing pro-democracy, pro-America coalition. They are desperate because we did not back down.
Since March, we at Protect Democracy have tried to keep you ahead of the curve about what this administration would try to do to corrupt this election. But it’s just as important to focus on what they’re afraid of.
The authoritarian movement is afraid of our coalition working across our differences. They are afraid of us harnessing our anger and turning it into joyful action, into what the great John Lewis called “Good Trouble.” They are afraid of what happens when we show up together and refuse to be managed by dread.
An uncreative, desperate playbook
Here is the truth about what we call the Executive Override playbook: It’s not clever. It’s the same three moves, over and over: deceive, disrupt, and deny.
The playbook is predictable. We know they lie about who’s voting. Make it hard for people to vote. Try to unnerve, confuse, and discourage via racist gerrymandering and other tired tactics, all while preparing to claim victimhood, to say their losses don’t count. Steal taxpayer money allocated to combatting drug trafficking and for memorials for officers killed in the line of duty to air ridiculous and illegal propaganda videos (as flagged by our colleagues at OpenOMB). Make wild, baseless claims that noncitizens are voting by the thousands — then shrug when their own investigations turn up next to nothing.
The ultimate purpose of all these actions?
They’re aiming to frighten us. With less than a month before polls close, they’re panicking, because they know the pro-democracy coalition is strong. So, like all authoritarians, they’re trying to project an inflated sense of power to make us afraid. They want us to give up, stay home, bend the knee.
Americans aren’t going to do that. We’re not built like that.
Here’s how we close this out
Lawyers across the pro-democracy movement are more coordinated and prepared than ever. We’ve been working with local election officials for months to make sure they are prepared for unique threats and are ready to go to court the moment authoritarian forces try to intimidate a voter or break the rules in the middle of the game. And we are ready to rally around any organization or individual targeted with sham investigations designed to scare us off the field.
But that is just one piece of the puzzle. This fall, our coalition is bigger, more diverse, and more creative than ever.
Scientists and public health experts are building benches of Science Rising Ambassadors for Election Protection, who can identify and speak out about specific election threats in their communities. Business leaders are standing up for free, fair, and secure elections as the basis for a thriving economy and engaging in creative tactics to help their employees and communities vote. Faith leaders are showing up nationwide as trusted sources of information and conviction — check out the 15-state multi-faith bus tour launching today in Omaha, Nebraska! Gen Z organizers have been doing extraordinary work in the off-season, resulting in a 6.7% increase in 18-year-olds registered to vote compared to 2022 (and, of course, dominating the content game). Volunteers are flooding into education and readiness work, making sure nobody walks into November confused about where, when, or how to vote — including the next No Kings Early Vote Day of Action on October 17.
Our coalition is mobilized and ready for what comes next.
And we can predict what comes next. In the next few weeks, brace yourself for more of the same: last-minute claims that eligible people shouldn’t be allowed to vote, armed presence near polling places meant to rattle you, and sudden legal moves trying to change the rules, even though more than 1.7 million people have already voted. None of it is new. All of it has failed before. It will fail again — because we will all do our part to make sure it does.
Specifically, here is your part:
Go check your own registration right now, and decide exactly how and when you’re voting. Then call at least three people you love. Ask if they have a plan. Make sure they don’t fall through the cracks because nobody checked in.
If you can give more, sign up to be a poll worker or a trained poll observer — and stay ready, because this fight does not end on election night. Ballot curing, recounts, runoffs: We’ll see all of it through.
Most importantly, find your community. The best way to turn fear and exhaustion into energy is to face it together. Whether you find your people at No Kings, your faith community, the family group chat, or your local, make sure you have your crew for crunch time.
They’re counting on you being afraid. They are counting on you being alone. But we’re not alone, and we don’t have to be afraid. We are ready for this moment and we will win together.
And support the hardworking candidates by donating to their campaigns!