From left, Wren Peterson, Travis Peterson and Tristen Peterson vote at the Hope Retreat Center on Election Day, Nov. 3, 2026, in Hope, Alaska.
AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson via The Conversation

From Washington, D.C. to Anchorage, Alaska, federal courts have been busy with cases related to the Trump administration’s attempts to assert control over state elections. In almost every case, rulings have gone against the administration. But despite the fears of many Democrats, there was no mayhem launched by the Trump administration on Election Day.

One federal judge chastised administration officials for being “engaged in a campaign to intimidate, threaten and coerce state and local officials and employees who are engaged in administering the ongoing midterm 2026 election.” Another wrote with umbrage that “If the Executive can discount votes and threaten an ongoing election due to unproven allegations, then our democracy is in danger.” And the nation’s highest court, the Supreme Court, in what The New York Times called “an extraordinary rebuke,” refused to intervene in the administration’s appeal of a lower court ruling that barred federal intervention in California ballot counting.

Originally published on theconversation.com, part of the BLOX Digital Content Exchange.

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