Fair Elections Are in Grave Danger, Democrats Warn 

Democrats are ready to pull the alarm.

A forum on voter threats to fair elections, held Wednesday by Senate Democrats and headlined by former Attorney General Eric Holder and North Carolina Supreme Court Justice Allison Riggs warned about a coordinated attack on American democracy, while insisting that it hasn’t succeeded yet, and that elections still matter. 

The panel cited several recent assaults on democracy. Among them: the GOP effort to overturn Riggs’ victory by disenfranchising tens of thousands of voters; Texas’ mid-decade redistricting that could help Republicans hold onto their U.S. House majority; and the Trump Justice Department’s demands that states hand over sensitive voter information.

Riggs, who won her gavel after a 6-month legal battle that saw her Republican opponent attempt to toss out 68,000 votes after the polls closed, warned hers was a cautionary tale. 

“In the attacks on voters after the 2024 election, we came perilously close to watching our system of rules-based elections crumble before our eyes,” Riggs said. “Our state appellate courts were willing to give credence to an argument that the rules of an election could be changed after the election, to change an election outcome.”

“My experience, and the experience of North Carolinians in this past election cycle, should be taken as a very serious threat to democracy,” she added. 

Holder, who has chaired the National Democratic Redistricting Committee since its creation in 2017, cautioned that Donald Trump’s attempt to overturn the 2020 election was no one off. 

“Too many Americans and far too many so-called leaders have fallen into that trap. The truth is even more chilling and consequential,” Holder said. “I think our democracy is being assailed by powerful forces at both the national and state levels that are seeking to gain power and are willing to hold on to that power at any cost. This is about acquisition and maintenance of power by any means necessary.”

“As a constitutional law scholar, I have faith that we the people will prevail in keeping the Republic and in continuing the work toward the more perfect union that was entrusted to us,” added Justin Levitt, a law professor at Loyola Marymount University, and a voting rights adviser to former President Joe Biden. “But I’m troubled that we’re going to have to do that work despite, and not alongside, our current federal government.” 

Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) chaired the forum along with Senate Rules ranking member Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), who earlier in the day sent a letter to the U.S. Office of Special Counsel calling for an investigation into potential Hatch Act violations by the White House and Department of Justice. At issue is Texas’ mid-decade redistricting, which came after President Donald Trump called on state Republicans to help the GOP pick up seats. 

“Just a simple redrawing, we pick up five seats,” Trump told reporters.

Earlier Wednesday, Texas Republicans unveiled that new map. 

Ballots from military service members and Americans living abroad were targeted in Riggs’ election last year. The extra hurdles active-duty military and their families have to clear to vote is insulting, said Janessa Goldbeck, CEO of Vet Voice Foundation. 

“The men and women who wear a uniform have … sworn an oath to protect and defend the Constitution. Their most fundamental right [is] the right to express themselves. [But] because of the Hatch Act, they’re not allowed to speak politically on other topics,” Goldbeck said. “Voting is their one form of sanctioned political speech, and so to make [it] harder for folks to vote — to challenge their ballots, submitted lawfully and submitted on-time — is incredibly disrespectful to every person in uniform.”

Holder directed his ire at the U.S. Supreme Court, saying the conservative majority had allowed partisan preferences to erode its duty to protect democracy. 

“The Supreme Court is a broken institution,” Holder said, castigating the court’s reliance on the shadow docket and willingness to set aside precedent.  

“We’re here today because the sacred right to vote in America is under attack,” said Durbin, the ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee. 

“Most disturbingly, some of these efforts are being carried out or enabled by the very government entities charged with protecting that right,” Durbin added. “This betrayal is deliberate. It’s strategic. It is eroding the foundation of our democracy.” 

The senators and panelists floated a number of nightmare scenarios U.S. democracy might face in the coming years: Trump deploying U.S. troops to polling stations, the DOJ bringing felony charges against election officials, local officials tossing out votes to hand elections to losing candidates, all while a complacent Congress and Supreme Court sit idly by. 

But despite painting a foreboding picture, they all preached against despair. 

“We are in a constitutional crisis, but it’s not game over,” Holder said. “We still have power. If people participate in elections, if people are engaged in civic activities, I think we can push back.”