| From | Michael Waldman, Brennan Center for Justice <[email protected]> |
| Subject | The Briefing: The SAVE Act and the broader election plot |
| Date | February 10, 2026 10:45 PM |
Links have been removed from this email. Learn more in the FAQ.
Links have been removed from this email. Learn more in the FAQ.
The revived bill would disenfranchise millions of Americans.
[link removed]
For months, we have warned
[link removed]
of a drive by President Trump and his administration to undermine the 2026 election. It is unprecedented, outlandish. Now Trump himself is blaring his intent — and over the past week, the public issue has exploded. The fight for a free and fair vote is taking shape, starting on the floor of the House this week as it once again considers the SAVE Act.
Make no mistake: The SAVE Act would stop millions of American citizens from voting. It would be the most restrictive voting bill ever passed by Congress. It is Trump’s power grab in legislative garb.
Today, the House Rules Committee is voting to send the measure to the full House for a vote. Effectively, the bill would require Americans to produce a passport or a birth certificate to register and thus to vote. Brennan Center research shows that 21 million people lack ready access to these documents. Half of all Americans don’t have a passport, for example. Millions of married women who have changed their names might need to jump through extra hoops to vote.
The measure likely will pass the House, as it did in an earlier form last year. Once again, it will be up to senators to block it. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) declared it “dead on arrival
[link removed]
.” But this time around, a mobilized outside drive is pushing lawmakers to restrict voting. “It must be done or democracy is dead,” instructed
[link removed]
Elon Musk. The SAVE Act will not expire quietly, surrounded by loved ones. It’s on all of us to stand up and speak out, once again.
And now we see how it fits into the broader strategy.
In recent days, Trump has repeatedly demanded that Republicans “nationalize” the elections on behalf of his political party. Each time his aides try to clean up his remarks, he doubles down. “A state is an agent for the federal government in elections,” he wrongly insisted
[link removed]
.
Constitutionally, that’s upside-down land. The Constitution is unambiguous: States run elections. Presidents have no role.
Congress, appropriately, can enact national legislation. It should use that power to pass national standards to protect the freedom to vote, not restrict it.
Then there’s the appalling abuse of federal law enforcement. We still do not know why Kash Patel’s FBI raided election offices in Fulton County, Georgia, nearly two weeks ago. A judge has ordered that the underlying legal papers, secret until now, be released. ProPublica reports
[link removed]
the raid may be linked to agitation by a “conservative researcher” who has peddled discredited conspiracy theories.
Intelligence chief/gadfly Tulsi Gabbard showed up at the Atlanta raid. FOMO? Amid Justice Department ducking
[link removed]
and a denial
[link removed]
by Trump, Gabbard wrote to Congress that in fact the president ordered her to go even though her office plays no part in elections. Now it turns out that Gabbard last year obtained
[link removed]
voting machines in Puerto Rico. And Trump’s allies in 2020 claimed that Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez, long dead, had masterminded a plot.
This is comic opera stuff. But it’s deadly serious, too — certainly for the public servants in Fulton County. It all aims to send a message to intimidate election officials around the country. If you preside over an election and we don’t like the result, we may come after you.
Steve Bannon, the Trump strategist who served prison time for defying a congressional subpoena, declared
[link removed]
on Tuesday, “We’re going to have ICE surround the polls come November. We’re not going to sit here and allow you to steal the country again.” When we see how politicized and aggressive immigration forces have become, that threat becomes more than a podcaster’s bombast.
Here, the law is clear: That would be a federal crime
[link removed]
. My colleague Sean Morales-Doyle explains
[link removed]
: “Can the president send troops or ICE agents to polling places? No — both federal and state laws explicitly prohibit the federal government from carrying out these implied threats.” It’s a federal crime
[link removed]
to intimidate voters, too.
In coming months, if we see abuses of power like this, what can we all do to ensure that voters have their voice?
So far, we and others have staved off Trump’s worst impulses. After Trump signed an executive order last year purporting to unilaterally rewrite election rules, we sued the administration, and we won. And as the Trump administration continues to sue states for sensitive voter information, courts in California, Michigan, and Oregon have reaffirmed states’ right to refuse.
State and local governments, too, must be ready to act to protect the polls.
And voters will need to know that, despite all the noise and drama, we can make sure the 2026 elections are free, fair, secure, and, yes, uneventful. It may require voting early or by mail, for example.
In an election year, voting rights advocates often ponder whether pointing to threats risks demobilizing citizens. At some point, warning about voter suppression can accidentally dampen participation.
Not this year, it seems. Each time Trump declares that his goal is to “nationalize” the election — not for the greater good, but for his own political interests — the stakes become clearer. When he wrongly insists American elections are “rigged,” as he did over the weekend, it’s more than bluster. He’s saying the quiet part out loud.
In 2026, the right to vote will demand a fight to vote.
Tell your representatives in Congress to reject the SAVE Act >>
[link removed]
Why the Trump Administration Wants State Voter Files
Although most states are refusing the Justice Department’s unprecedented demands to hand over their complete voter files, at least 10 states have acceded. A confidential document sent to the states reveals the administration’s plans: The DOJ would conduct its own analysis of states’ voter files and then instruct the states to remove specific voters. “This would turn the American system of election administration upside down,” Eileen O’Connor writes. “It is the states, not the federal government, that have the statutory authority — not to mention the expertise — to add and remove voters from the rolls.” Read more
[link removed]
DOJ Targets Efforts to Make Prisons Safer
Last year, the Justice Department cut some $16 million in funding for the Prison Rape Elimination Act, a law that has helped curb sexual violence in prisons since it was passed with unanimous bipartisan support in 2003. The loss of federal funding will undermine decades of progress and endanger incarcerated people and corrections staff alike. The new installment in a Brennan Center series examining the impact of the DOJ’s grant cuts on public safety urges renewed federal support to address sexual violence behind bars. Read more
[link removed]
Trump’s Record-Breaking Super PAC Haul
The main super PAC affiliated with President Trump has raised $305 million since the 2024 election — a record-breaking sum. Roughly 96 percent of MAGA Inc.’s funds come almost entirely from donations of $1 million or more, and many of those megadonors stand to benefit from Trump’s policies. “The appearance that wealthy interests can influence policy with multimillion-dollar donations is severely harming faith in our democracy,” Ian Vandewalker writes. Read more
[link removed]
How Do Election Officials Handle Requests for Election Materials?
In recent years, there has been a deluge of requests to access voting equipment and records coming from a variety of sources, including private actors, legislative committees, and law enforcement agents. While certain requests can be legitimate and important for transparency, others go far beyond what is legally authorized. A new Brennan Center explainer addresses the rules governing access to voting machines and sensitive election materials. Read more
[link removed]
Legislative Assaults on State Courts
As state courts play a growing role in American political life, some state legislatures have responded by passing laws designed to limit the power and independence of the courts and make it easier to punish judges who rule against them. Last year, legislatures considered at least 117 such bills, 1 of which was passed. A Brennan Center resource outlines the familiar and emerging tactics that lawmakers across the country are using to retaliate against or gain leverage over state judiciaries. Read more
[link removed]
Podcast
Why Nothing Works (with Marc Dunkelman)
[link removed]
Our government can often be defined by inefficiency and gridlock. We see big promises followed by inadequate action on issues from health care to the environment. Author and scholar Marc Dunkelman thinks he can explain why. In his new book, Why Nothing Works, he makes the case that progressive efforts to constrain authority and make processes more democratic have, in fact, left many parts of our government unresponsive and unable to function, creating a cycle of distrust and disappointment. Watch or listen as experts discuss how to break through the red tape and better ensure our democracy is able to serve everyone. YouTube
[link removed]
// Spotify
[link removed]
// Apple
[link removed]
// SUBSTACK
[link removed]
Coming Up
VIRTUAL PREMIERE: A Moment for Reform in Congress (with Rep. Joe Morelle)
[link removed]
Wednesday, February 18, 3–4 p.m. ET
Rep. Joe Morelle (D-NY), ranking member of the Committee on House Administration, is leading efforts in the House to craft the Democrats’ agenda to fight corruption and strengthen democracy. Recently, he has spoken emphatically about the dangers of the SAVE Act, which would effectively bar millions of eligible Americans from voting. Join us to watch Morelle discuss what it will take to defend the right to vote, end political corruption, and renew democratic values.RSVP today
[link removed]
Want to keep up with Brennan Center events? Subscribe to the events newsletter.
[link removed]
News
Douglas Keith on unusual spending on a Wisconsin appeals court election // WAUSAU PILOT & REVIEW
[link removed]
Lawrence Norden on the broken trust between election officials and the federal government // THE ATLANTIC
[link removed]
Daniel Weiner on Target’s spending on lobbying in 2025 // THE MINNESOTA STAR TRIBUNE
[link removed]
Wendy Weiser on the Trump administration’s campaign to undermine elections // THE GUARDIAN
[link removed]
Feedback on this newsletter? Email us at [email protected]
mailto:[email protected]
[link removed]
Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law
120 Broadway, Suite 1750, New York, NY 10271
646-292-8310
tel:646-292-8310
[email protected]
mailto:[email protected]
Support the Brennan Center
[link removed]
View Online
[link removed]
Want to change how you receive these emails or unsubscribe? Click here
[link removed]
to update your preferences.
[link removed]
[link removed]
[link removed]
[link removed]
[link removed]
[link removed]
[link removed]
[link removed]
[link removed]
[link removed]
For months, we have warned
[link removed]
of a drive by President Trump and his administration to undermine the 2026 election. It is unprecedented, outlandish. Now Trump himself is blaring his intent — and over the past week, the public issue has exploded. The fight for a free and fair vote is taking shape, starting on the floor of the House this week as it once again considers the SAVE Act.
Make no mistake: The SAVE Act would stop millions of American citizens from voting. It would be the most restrictive voting bill ever passed by Congress. It is Trump’s power grab in legislative garb.
Today, the House Rules Committee is voting to send the measure to the full House for a vote. Effectively, the bill would require Americans to produce a passport or a birth certificate to register and thus to vote. Brennan Center research shows that 21 million people lack ready access to these documents. Half of all Americans don’t have a passport, for example. Millions of married women who have changed their names might need to jump through extra hoops to vote.
The measure likely will pass the House, as it did in an earlier form last year. Once again, it will be up to senators to block it. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) declared it “dead on arrival
[link removed]
.” But this time around, a mobilized outside drive is pushing lawmakers to restrict voting. “It must be done or democracy is dead,” instructed
[link removed]
Elon Musk. The SAVE Act will not expire quietly, surrounded by loved ones. It’s on all of us to stand up and speak out, once again.
And now we see how it fits into the broader strategy.
In recent days, Trump has repeatedly demanded that Republicans “nationalize” the elections on behalf of his political party. Each time his aides try to clean up his remarks, he doubles down. “A state is an agent for the federal government in elections,” he wrongly insisted
[link removed]
.
Constitutionally, that’s upside-down land. The Constitution is unambiguous: States run elections. Presidents have no role.
Congress, appropriately, can enact national legislation. It should use that power to pass national standards to protect the freedom to vote, not restrict it.
Then there’s the appalling abuse of federal law enforcement. We still do not know why Kash Patel’s FBI raided election offices in Fulton County, Georgia, nearly two weeks ago. A judge has ordered that the underlying legal papers, secret until now, be released. ProPublica reports
[link removed]
the raid may be linked to agitation by a “conservative researcher” who has peddled discredited conspiracy theories.
Intelligence chief/gadfly Tulsi Gabbard showed up at the Atlanta raid. FOMO? Amid Justice Department ducking
[link removed]
and a denial
[link removed]
by Trump, Gabbard wrote to Congress that in fact the president ordered her to go even though her office plays no part in elections. Now it turns out that Gabbard last year obtained
[link removed]
voting machines in Puerto Rico. And Trump’s allies in 2020 claimed that Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez, long dead, had masterminded a plot.
This is comic opera stuff. But it’s deadly serious, too — certainly for the public servants in Fulton County. It all aims to send a message to intimidate election officials around the country. If you preside over an election and we don’t like the result, we may come after you.
Steve Bannon, the Trump strategist who served prison time for defying a congressional subpoena, declared
[link removed]
on Tuesday, “We’re going to have ICE surround the polls come November. We’re not going to sit here and allow you to steal the country again.” When we see how politicized and aggressive immigration forces have become, that threat becomes more than a podcaster’s bombast.
Here, the law is clear: That would be a federal crime
[link removed]
. My colleague Sean Morales-Doyle explains
[link removed]
: “Can the president send troops or ICE agents to polling places? No — both federal and state laws explicitly prohibit the federal government from carrying out these implied threats.” It’s a federal crime
[link removed]
to intimidate voters, too.
In coming months, if we see abuses of power like this, what can we all do to ensure that voters have their voice?
So far, we and others have staved off Trump’s worst impulses. After Trump signed an executive order last year purporting to unilaterally rewrite election rules, we sued the administration, and we won. And as the Trump administration continues to sue states for sensitive voter information, courts in California, Michigan, and Oregon have reaffirmed states’ right to refuse.
State and local governments, too, must be ready to act to protect the polls.
And voters will need to know that, despite all the noise and drama, we can make sure the 2026 elections are free, fair, secure, and, yes, uneventful. It may require voting early or by mail, for example.
In an election year, voting rights advocates often ponder whether pointing to threats risks demobilizing citizens. At some point, warning about voter suppression can accidentally dampen participation.
Not this year, it seems. Each time Trump declares that his goal is to “nationalize” the election — not for the greater good, but for his own political interests — the stakes become clearer. When he wrongly insists American elections are “rigged,” as he did over the weekend, it’s more than bluster. He’s saying the quiet part out loud.
In 2026, the right to vote will demand a fight to vote.
Tell your representatives in Congress to reject the SAVE Act >>
[link removed]
Why the Trump Administration Wants State Voter Files
Although most states are refusing the Justice Department’s unprecedented demands to hand over their complete voter files, at least 10 states have acceded. A confidential document sent to the states reveals the administration’s plans: The DOJ would conduct its own analysis of states’ voter files and then instruct the states to remove specific voters. “This would turn the American system of election administration upside down,” Eileen O’Connor writes. “It is the states, not the federal government, that have the statutory authority — not to mention the expertise — to add and remove voters from the rolls.” Read more
[link removed]
DOJ Targets Efforts to Make Prisons Safer
Last year, the Justice Department cut some $16 million in funding for the Prison Rape Elimination Act, a law that has helped curb sexual violence in prisons since it was passed with unanimous bipartisan support in 2003. The loss of federal funding will undermine decades of progress and endanger incarcerated people and corrections staff alike. The new installment in a Brennan Center series examining the impact of the DOJ’s grant cuts on public safety urges renewed federal support to address sexual violence behind bars. Read more
[link removed]
Trump’s Record-Breaking Super PAC Haul
The main super PAC affiliated with President Trump has raised $305 million since the 2024 election — a record-breaking sum. Roughly 96 percent of MAGA Inc.’s funds come almost entirely from donations of $1 million or more, and many of those megadonors stand to benefit from Trump’s policies. “The appearance that wealthy interests can influence policy with multimillion-dollar donations is severely harming faith in our democracy,” Ian Vandewalker writes. Read more
[link removed]
How Do Election Officials Handle Requests for Election Materials?
In recent years, there has been a deluge of requests to access voting equipment and records coming from a variety of sources, including private actors, legislative committees, and law enforcement agents. While certain requests can be legitimate and important for transparency, others go far beyond what is legally authorized. A new Brennan Center explainer addresses the rules governing access to voting machines and sensitive election materials. Read more
[link removed]
Legislative Assaults on State Courts
As state courts play a growing role in American political life, some state legislatures have responded by passing laws designed to limit the power and independence of the courts and make it easier to punish judges who rule against them. Last year, legislatures considered at least 117 such bills, 1 of which was passed. A Brennan Center resource outlines the familiar and emerging tactics that lawmakers across the country are using to retaliate against or gain leverage over state judiciaries. Read more
[link removed]
Podcast
Why Nothing Works (with Marc Dunkelman)
[link removed]
Our government can often be defined by inefficiency and gridlock. We see big promises followed by inadequate action on issues from health care to the environment. Author and scholar Marc Dunkelman thinks he can explain why. In his new book, Why Nothing Works, he makes the case that progressive efforts to constrain authority and make processes more democratic have, in fact, left many parts of our government unresponsive and unable to function, creating a cycle of distrust and disappointment. Watch or listen as experts discuss how to break through the red tape and better ensure our democracy is able to serve everyone. YouTube
[link removed]
// Spotify
[link removed]
// Apple
[link removed]
// SUBSTACK
[link removed]
Coming Up
VIRTUAL PREMIERE: A Moment for Reform in Congress (with Rep. Joe Morelle)
[link removed]
Wednesday, February 18, 3–4 p.m. ET
Rep. Joe Morelle (D-NY), ranking member of the Committee on House Administration, is leading efforts in the House to craft the Democrats’ agenda to fight corruption and strengthen democracy. Recently, he has spoken emphatically about the dangers of the SAVE Act, which would effectively bar millions of eligible Americans from voting. Join us to watch Morelle discuss what it will take to defend the right to vote, end political corruption, and renew democratic values.RSVP today
[link removed]
Want to keep up with Brennan Center events? Subscribe to the events newsletter.
[link removed]
News
Douglas Keith on unusual spending on a Wisconsin appeals court election // WAUSAU PILOT & REVIEW
[link removed]
Lawrence Norden on the broken trust between election officials and the federal government // THE ATLANTIC
[link removed]
Daniel Weiner on Target’s spending on lobbying in 2025 // THE MINNESOTA STAR TRIBUNE
[link removed]
Wendy Weiser on the Trump administration’s campaign to undermine elections // THE GUARDIAN
[link removed]
Feedback on this newsletter? Email us at [email protected]
mailto:[email protected]
[link removed]
Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law
120 Broadway, Suite 1750, New York, NY 10271
646-292-8310
tel:646-292-8310
[email protected]
mailto:[email protected]
Support the Brennan Center
[link removed]
View Online
[link removed]
Want to change how you receive these emails or unsubscribe? Click here
[link removed]
to update your preferences.
[link removed]
[link removed]
[link removed]
[link removed]
[link removed]
[link removed]
[link removed]
[link removed]
[link removed]
Message Analysis
- Sender: Brennan Center for Justice
- Political Party: n/a
- Country: United States
- State/Locality: n/a
- Office: n/a
-
Email Providers:
- Litmus