For the last several weeks, I have been preparing for oral argument before the U.S. Supreme Court in a critical campaign finance case. Yesterday morning, I finally had the opportunity to stand before the nine justices and argue why the Republican Party’s lawsuit would undermine campaign finance law and facilitate corruption.

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December 10, 2025

For the last several weeks, I have been preparing for oral argument before the U.S. Supreme Court in a critical campaign finance case. Yesterday morning, I finally had the opportunity to stand before the nine justices and argue why the Republican Party’s lawsuit would undermine campaign finance law and facilitate corruption.

I will have more on that experience soon, but I hope this explains why you haven’t heard from me as much recently. Thank you for your support, patience and understanding.

Ever since Donald Trump took office earlier this year, we have watched our democracy pitch toward one crisis after another. One week, it might be the administration's abuse of the criminal justice system. The next, it’s the deployment of troops to our cities.

Over the last 11 months, however, one crisis has been ongoing. I have repeatedly warned that the Republican voter suppression and election-subversion machine continues to grind on.

You count on Marc Elias for honest, straightforward insights in the fight for voting rights. Staying informed is essential to fighting for the future of our democracy.

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It rarely breaks into national headlines, but its persistent attacks on free and fair elections serve as a constant hum in the background. It remains, in my opinion, the greatest threat to democracy because it is the gravest threat to free and fair elections.

Its most obvious manifestation this year has been the GOP’s effort to rig congressional maps to prevent voters from kicking them out of the House majority. Recognizing how deeply unpopular Trump is among voters, Republicans have waged a multipronged assault on fair districting.

This includes not only midcycle redistricting in states like Texas, Missouri and North Carolina, but also a legal strategy designed to make redressing racial discrimination verboten while elevating partisan considerations as a positive good. And as we watch state-by-state skirmishes, we must remember to keep a wary eye on the Supreme Court for a decision that could gut what remains of the Voting Rights Act and potentially flip a dozen or more seats.

But redistricting is only the tip of the iceberg: a symptom of a deeper pathology within a party committed to disenfranchising voters rather than persuading them. In another case headed to the Supreme Court for argument next spring, the Republican National Committee has targeted mail-in ballots. This war on mail-in voting is not new, but many might be surprised to learn that it remains under constant attack by Trump, his party and his supporters.

In many respects, all this pales in comparison to the Department of Justice’s obsession with collecting voter data on more than 175 million Americans — every person who has voted or registered to vote in recent decades. I have previously written about the DOJ’s demand that states turn over their full voter rolls. Democracy Docket reported that the DOJ sued eight states for this data, and last week it updated that reporting when the DOJ sued another six states — bringing the total to 14.

But aside from Democracy Docket and a handful of reporters and outlets, most legacy media have given this story short shrift. Donald Trump’s Department of Justice is seeking a full database of sensitive voting information on virtually every person who might vote in 2026 and 2028.

This includes full names, addresses, Social Security numbers and dates of birth. In some states, it includes a voter’s race. In most places, it also includes party registration, which elections a person has voted in, the method of voting they used, and whether they have moved. The DOJ could also learn whether a person’s ballot has previously been questioned, challenged or rejected, as well as whether they voted from overseas or while in the military.

Never before has the federal government sought all this information from nearly every state. Never before has the DOJ sued 14 states to obtain it. And the selection of states is hardly random. All except Michigan and Pennsylvania are solidly blue states, and all but two — New Hampshire and Vermont — have Democratic governors.

As we approach the end of the year, the Republican Party remains active in 59 separate voting cases. Add another 30 that the Department of Justice is litigating, and the picture becomes clear.

The Republican Party is a party of vote suppressors and election deniers. This is no longer a flaw in some members of the GOP; it is the defining feature of the MAGA takeover. Undermining free and fair elections is the central tenet of Trumpism in 2025, and it will be the leading strategy of the GOP in 2026 and beyond.

I understand that there are many threats to democracy. I, too, often become consumed by the outrage of the day or the new lows this administration consistently finds.

But I am also an experienced voting and election lawyer. Republicans want us to focus our attention elsewhere. They want to continue planning to subvert the 2026 election with as little scrutiny as possible. They want election denialism to become routine and mundane so that it is ignored until it is too late.

We cannot let that happen. For the next 11 months, we must approach each day with these questions: What can we do to protect free and fair elections? How can we counter what the GOP is doing? How can we advance the voting rights of every eligible citizen and ensure their ballots are accurately counted and elections properly certified?

Answering these questions starts with staying alert and informed. I founded Democracy Docket in 2020 to do my part. I hope you do yours.

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