Too Big To Ignore: Will of the People Weekly

Trump and His Cronies Are Working to Rig the Game Because They Can’t Win a Fair Fight — But Voters Pick Our Leaders, Not the Other Way Around. Here’s What You Need To Know This Week.

Week of August 17, 2026

Congress is still out of town this week, but the fight isn’t on recess. Last week a federal judge blocked Trump’s mail-voting order nationwide, and within a day his Justice Department was back at the Supreme Court asking the justices to wipe that ruling away. Meanwhile, in North Carolina, Governor Josh Stein is expected to veto an extreme, anti-voter bill passed by the GOP state legislature. With voters headed to the polls in four states for elections on Tuesday, what happens next is up to us, not them. When all of us show up, the will of the people wins. Try and stop us.

In the Administration

• Trump is lobbying for voter roll purges even as the window closes. As of August 5, the country is officially within 90 days of a federal election, and the National Voter Registration Act bars systematic voter purges during that period. The Trump administration is still pushing for purges, however, prompting Senate Democrats to warn Trump’s DHS and DOJ that pushing states to scrub rolls using SAVE data would break the law.

In the Courts

• League of Women Voters of Massachusetts v. Trump (U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts)
  • Six voting rights groups sued over Trump’s March 31 executive order directing USPS to build “approved mail voter” lists and refuse certain ballots. On Tuesday, a federal judge blocked the order nationwide, writing that the executive branch “has no authority to regulate elections.” The DOJ has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to block the injunction.
• Trump v. California (U.S. Supreme Court)
  • This week, the Trump administration is awaiting news from the Supreme Court on its request to lift the injunction blocking Trump’s mail-voting executive order in 23 states and D.C. The states filed their opposition at the beginning of the month, arguing a stay would let USPS “rush out” an untested ballot-interception program before November. Briefing is now complete and a ruling could come at any time. If the justices side with Trump, the USPS could begin withholding ballots from voters not on a federally approved list in every state that hasn’t sued.
• United States of America v. Aguilar (U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada)
  • The DOJ originally sued to force Nevada to hand over its voter files, including birthdates, driver’s license numbers, and partial Social Security numbers. On Friday, a federal judge dismissed the case, writing that the department had offered “no basis — none” for its demand. It is the 22nd straight loss for the DOJ in cases seeking state voter data.

In the States

North Carolina

• A sweeping anti-voter election bill (HB 958), opposed by the ACLU of North Carolina and passed by the GOP state legislature by a margin just short of a veto-proof majority, is awaiting action by Governor Josh Stein, who said he will veto the bill this week.

Upcoming Elections & Deadlines

Tuesday, August 18

• Alaska primary
• Florida primary
• Wyoming primary
• Pennsylvania state legislature special election