Try and Stop Us Digest — August 6, 2026

Politico / Democracy Docket: Trump and his MAGA allies started pushing mail-in vote conspiracies hours after polls closed in Michigan. Hours after polls closed in Michigan on Tuesday, Trump and prominent MAGA figures started spreading false claims of mail voter fraud. “Wayne County (Detroit)… is one of the most corrupt voting areas in the United States, if not the World,” Trump posted, warning of fraud in November's race between El-Sayed and Mike Rogers.

Zeteo: Governors' offices, AGs, and secretaries of state are preparing for Trump to send troops or ICE to polling places. Nearly a dozen DAs have vowed to prosecute any agent who tries it. The ACLU is putting $24.5 million behind an election-safeguarding push. “We're not going to just hand over the ballots and the machines just because the president says to do so,” said Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows.

New York Times: A new database shows 25 election deniers took local office since 2024, on top of 69 already serving — many in counties that will decide control of Congress. One Michigan clerk has been purging voters based on data from an election-denial group; the state cut her records access until she completes retraining. “What we're seeing now is the sort of thing that people have long worried about,” said Tammy Patrick, National Association of Election Officials.

Democracy Docket: The 90-day “quiet period” that bars mass voter removals before an election just began — and Trump's DOJ has already argued in court that the rule doesn't really apply to them. Sen. Alex Padilla and colleagues gave DOJ and DHS until Aug. 7 to confirm they'll comply. “Current use of the SAVE program for list maintenance is illegal,” the senators wrote. “Efforts to coerce states to conduct mass voter purges during the ‘quiet period' are also illegal under the NVRA.”

Maryland Matters: Democrats passed a redistricting amendment 32-13 clearing the way to target the state's only Republican seat — and Republicans are already lining up a lawsuit. “We're going to try to get this into the court as soon as we possibly can,” said Senate Minority Leader Stephen Hershey. Gov. Wes Moore called inaction “not an option” while “Republicans engage in political redlining.” The measure heads to voters in November.

Democracy Docket: Oak Grove is suing to ditch electronic poll books for paper ones — a demand traced straight back to Cleta Mitchell's national election-denial network. The city's own attorney couldn't name a single past instance of electronic poll books causing fraud. Local activists pushing the switch have echoed Mitchell's “model election laws” handbook and posted content comparing Tim Walz to Mao Zedong.

Missouri Independent / Washington Post: Secretary of State Denny Hoskins refused to even say whether petitioners had enough valid signatures, saying it “doesn't really matter” because he considers a redistricting referendum unconstitutional. Advocates immediately sued. The outcome could upend the map used in Missouri's midterm races.

Democracy Docket: Solicitor General John Sauer claimed “at least 400” noncitizens voted; Gov. Sherrill had actually said “fewer than 400.” Sauer asked the Court to lift the block “as soon as possible given preparations for the upcoming election.”

NBC News: New voter suppression legislation passed by Republicans in the North Carolina legislature would allow residents to challenge early votes up to three days after an election, with GOP-controlled election boards deciding by simple majority. Stein pointed to a 2024 case where a losing state Supreme Court candidate contested 60,000 ballots, dragging the race out for six months — and warned this bill could unleash that kind of chaos after every close election.

Votebeat: County Executive Tim O'Hare kicked out attendees for clapping too loudly; a former Democratic state representative was arrested. “You could just go ahead and say you don't want people to vote,” one resident told O'Hare. The vote was tabled.

HuffPost: Trump's judicial nominee answers ‘Who won the election?' and… wow

HuffPost: Former J6 prosecutors beg senators to stop confirming election deniers to court seats

New York Times: They were voted out. They refuse to leave. Now what?

Bolts: Missourians reject measure that threatened to kill citizen-led ballot initiatives

Seattle Times: WA lawyers seek to hand Trump administration 21st loss in voter roll lawsuits

Texas Tribune / ProPublica: James Talarico accused Ken Paxton of voter fraud. His own voter registration is raising questions.

Democracy Docket: A Texas county is quietly planning to swap voting maps between its primary and November election

Associated Press: Wisconsin judge rules that paper absentee ballots violate rights of certain disabled people