Dpersisted

Trump’s plan to control who wins — Marc Elias Democracy Docket Founder Over the last 48 hours, two things have become unmistakable: Donald Trump is trying to steal the midterm elections, and Attorney General Todd Blanche will do whatever he can to help him. In California, the DOJ has escalated its threats against election officials and voters. On Friday, it sent letters to all 58 counties demanding they set aside mail ballots the DOJ has flagged or face the “risk significant federal scrutiny.” Meanwhile, in Alaska, Trump went further. He ordered his DOJ to sue to block certification of the Senate election if Democrat Mary Peltola wins. Asked about the lawsuit, Trump said, “Well, I’m one that said, ‘Do it.’” My law firm, Elias Law Group, has already moved to intervene to defeat this on behalf of Peltola’s campaign and the Democratic Party. DOJ’s rationale for the lawsuit is ridiculous, and its legal arguments are frivolous. The pretext for this lawsuit is the fact that two men named Dan Sullivan are on the ballot: Republican Sen. Dan S. Sullivan and Dan J. Sullivan, a retired teacher from Petersburg. DOJ asserts this is confusing to voters and that the remedy is to certify the Republican the winner. For this astounding proposition, the DOJ relies on the National Voter Registration Act. Set aside that the law governing voter registration has nothing at all to do with the certification of elections. Set aside that the underlying factual claims in the complaint read like a cross between Mad Libs and an AI chatbot run amok. The Alaska Supreme Court has already rejected the effort to keep the second Dan Sullivan off the ballot. And the Constitution gives states, not the president or the Justice Department, the authority to govern the composition of their ballots and the criteria for certifying their elections. But this, in some respects, is beside the point. The clumsy execution of Trump’s whim in Alaska is less important than what it reveals about his intentions and Blanche’s willingness to be his accomplice. Trump’s goal is clear. He plans to try to steal the election by asserting control over the counting and tabulating of ballots. That extends to the certification of results. More than a year ago, on August 18, 2025, he posted on social media that “the States are merely an ‘agent’ for the Federal Government in counting and tabulating the votes. They must do what the Federal Government, as represented by the President of the United States, tells them, FOR THE GOOD OF OUR COUNTRY, to do.” 𝗘𝗻𝗱 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁 1