Opponents of Donald Trump have long warned that he might move to cancel future elections. That hasn’t happened yet, but now the New York Times Editorial Board is sounding the alarm that the president may interfere with this year’s midterms.
“The Midterm Elections Need You. Here’s How to Help” is the headline of the Times editorial.
“Election integrity in the United States can be a fraught subject. Merely raising the prospect that a future election might be compromised makes many democracy experts uncomfortable,” the Times says. “It can undermine faith in our reliable, well-run election system and amplify the false claims about fraud that often come from President Trump. Even people who respect the sanctity of elections sometimes malign them. Many Democrats, for example, have wrongly suggested that voter-identification laws undermine the system by causing large declines in turnout.”
NYT warns midterms are in danger from interference, urges citizens to fight back by…becoming poll workers and donating to nonprofits.
I think it’s gonna take more than that.https://t.co/t3pIeyOJOj— Rachel Barnhart (@rachbarnhart) January 31, 2026
The Times notes that elections are very secure, and voter fraud is very rare. However, Trump appears to be threatening that system.
“He has repeatedly demonstrated his willingness to interfere with elections to benefit himself and his party. He has broken the law to do so and broken longstanding bipartisan traditions. Since he entered politics a decade ago, he has suggested that election outcomes are fair only if his side wins,” the editorial says. “In 2020, after he lost the presidential election, he attempted to direct a sprawling conspiracy to overturn the result. As it was failing (thanks to the honesty of election administrators from both parties), he encouraged protesters to march to Congress when it was meeting to certify his defeat — and later celebrated their violent attack.”
More recently, Trump’s FBI has raided a Georgia election office, and he has threatened a federal takeover of elections.
“To look at this pattern and conclude that the 2026 midterm elections are safe is to leave American democracy exposed. In a divided country where many elections are close and congressional control could come down to a handful of races, a local disruption affecting turnout or vote counting could have national consequences,” the newspaper says. “If you are somebody who has previously dismissed talk of election interference as overwrought, we understand where you are coming from. Yet we urge you not to assume that the past will repeat itself.”
The Times suggests that concerned Americans work the polls themselves, watch the polls, avoid spreading ” dubious information,” and support organizations working to safeguard elections.
Photo courtesy of the Political Tribune media library.
