Is the Trump administration trying to undermine our elections?

On this episode of Democracy Decoded, host Simone Leeper sits down with Campaign Legal Center’s Jonathan Diaz and Chad Dunn, head of the UCLA Voting Rights Project, to discuss the Department of Justice's escalating seizures of 2020 election materials in Georgia, Arizona, and beyond. They also unpack the executive orders President Trump has issued to reshape voter eligibility and mail-in voting, which have been repeatedly blocked by federal courts. Dunn goes on to detail his fight against the Riverside County sheriff's illegal ballot seizure and explains how election misinformation erodes public trust even when systems remain secure. As we get closer to the 2026 midterms, this episode explores what it will take to keep American elections safe, secure, and accurate — and who's responsible for making sure they stay that way.

Episode Highlights:

2:59 – Is the Trump administration laying groundwork to undermine the 2026 midterms?

3:46 – Why does the president still refuse to accept his 2020 loss in Georgia?

5:14 – How far has the DOJ's ballot subpoena campaign spread beyond Georgia?

6:55 – What happens when a sheriff decides he can seize ballots from a special election?

9:30 – Why are ballot seizures like this often self-defeating?

12:00 – How does election misinformation spread even when systems remain secure?

13:55 – Why does election misinformation make people lose faith in democracy itself?

15:58 – Can the president legally nationalize elections or cancel the midterms?

17:48 – Why have federal courts repeatedly blocked Trump's election executive orders?

21:42 – Can the president legally nationalize elections?

24:14 – What happens when election deniers are put in charge of federal agencies?

26:45 – What can be done to protect the freedom to vote going forward?

Host and Guests:

Simone Leeper litigates a wide range of redistricting-related cases at Campaign Legal Center, challenging gerrymanders and advocating for election systems that guarantee all voters an equal opportunity to influence our democracy. Prior to arriving at CLC, Simone was a law clerk in the office of Senator Ed Markey and at the Library of Congress, Office of General Counsel. She received her J.D. cum laude from Georgetown University Law Center in 2019 and a bachelor’s degree in political science from Columbia University in 2016.

Jonathan Diaz manages CLC's work to protect election results and defend against election sabotage and works directly with CLC's litigation, communications, and policy teams to help set organizational strategy on voting rights and elections advocacy. He also works directly with election officials at the state and local level to improve election administration processes, and represents CLC in democracy reform coalitions to coordinate legal, advocacy, and messaging strategies with partner organizations across the country.

Jonathan has also litigated voting rights cases in federal courts across the country, including LULAC v. Executive Office of the President (challenging the President's unconstitutional executive order on voting), LUCHA v. Fontes (challenging Arizona's burdensome and discriminatory proof-of-citizenship requirements for voter registration), VoteAmerica v. Raffensperger (challenging Georgia's restrictions on the distribution of absentee ballot applications) and Raysor v. Lee (challenging Florida's conditioning of rights restoration for voters with past felony convictions on the payment of legal financial obligations).

Chad Dunn is a Lecturer in Law at UCLA School of Law for the Voting Rights and Law Practicum that proudly equips emerging lawyers to confidently serve as powerful courtroom civil rights advocates in any court in the country. His research lies in civil rights, with a specialization in voting rights. He also serves as the Legal Director of UCLA’s Voting Rights Project, a joint project of the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs, the UCLA School of Law, and the UCLA School of Social Science, where he directs all litigation, appeals, and legal scholarship for the Voting Rights Project. In addition to his scholarship and teaching, Dunn co-founded and is a partner of the law firm Brazil & Dunn, LLP, where he continues to try cases and handle appeals in numerous areas of civil rights including redistricting, race discrimination under Title VII, sex discrimination under Title IX, prison conditions, police conduct, and government ethics as well as other civil and criminal legal matters.

Links:

Are President Trump and His Allies Laying the Groundwork To Undermine Our Elections?

What Role Does the Federal Government Play in Our Elections?

There is No Role for the President in Our Elections

Defending Against the Unlawful Seizure of Ballots (Cervantes v. Bianco)

CLC Sues to Block Trump Administration’s Illegal Election Overreach

Campaign Legal Center Sues Trump Administration Over Another Unconstitutional Voting Executive Order

Defending the Freedom to Vote from the Trump Administration’s Unconstitutional Presidential Overreach (LULAC, et al. v. Executive Office of the President)

Victory! Anti-Voter Executive Order Halted in Court

Vote By Mail Remains Secure: SCOTUS Rejects Trump Administration’s Attempt to Enforce New USPS Policy

A Stress Test for the Rule of Law: What the Election Subversion Pardons Really Mean

Trump Could Interfere With the Midterm Elections. You Can Help Defend Them

About CLC:

Democracy Decoded is a production of Campaign Legal Center, a nonpartisan legal organization dedicated to solving the wide range of challenges facing American democracy. We fight for every American’s freedom to vote and participate meaningfully in the democratic process, particularly Americans who have faced political barriers because of race, ethnicity or economic status. Learn more about us.

Democracy Decoded is part of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what’s broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.