How to beat Trump’s schemes for suppressing the vote

Call it what you want, a dividend, payola, or a straight-out bribe. It would be sad if it wasn’t so alarming. There he was, the president of the United States, promising to pay every American adult $5,000 if Republicans retain control of the House and Senate.

Imagine any president in American history making such an offer without being impeached the next day. Donald Trump’s announcement came at his midterm “Trump-a-palooza” convention, which might be better called “Desperation in Dallas.”

So much to unpack here, but let’s begin with this: The odds of anyone getting $5,000 are about the same as seeing water run uphill. That 5 grand will arrive in the same envelope as your DOGE dividend and your tariff rebate, on the 12th of never.

Then there’s the math. Two hundred and seventy million adults times $5,000 equals $1.35 trillion, which would almost double the deficit.

And where would the money even come from? Trump says from his tariffs, tariffs largely shouldered by the American taxpayer. The Treasury Department has collected $349 billion so far, not nearly enough to offset the cost. And that would be $349 billion minus the court-ordered tariff refunds that have yet to be dispersed.

Trump lies all of the time. Why should anyone believe him now? Now, when he is so desperate, he would do or say just about anything to save his majority. Trump’s speech last night in Dallas, according to CNN, contained 16 lies, including these doozies:

“Food prices and almost every other item are rapidly going down.” The opposite is true.

“Every single promise I made as a candidate, I’ve delivered on.” Utterly false. Ukraine? Inflation? New wars?

And if Trump can’t buy your vote, he wants to make it harder to cast a ballot.

Few things rile up Americans more than someone, especially the president, trying to take away our most fundamental right, the right to vote. That is what Trump has been attempting to do for months, because he is scared. He knows that if Americans vote without interference, he will likely lose control of the House and possibly the Senate.

But the ironic twist to this story is that the more Trump tries to suppress the vote and the more he casts doubt on the integrity of the elections, the more he galvanizes Democrats, independents, and never-Trump Republicans to vote against him and his party out of power.

“When you tell people that they can’t vote or we’re going to challenge your right to vote, or we’re going to monkey you around with your mail-in ballot, boy, that just motivates people more,” POLITICO’s Jonathan Martin told MS NOW. “And when you tell people, ‘We’re going to make it harder for you to vote, you may have federal agents at the polls.’ They will say, ‘Well, I’ll show you. I’ll be there at six in the morning to vote.’”

For the past 20 months, we have witnessed the systematic dismantling of programs, organizations, and norms of our democracy. We have had to stand by as the president and his family become billionaires on the backs of American taxpayers. We have seen the Congress capitulate and the Supreme Court roll over time and again.

In response, we have rallied and railed against it. We have kept informed and vented to like-minded friends and family. All of that is important, but November 3 is the one opportunity to show that we — collectively — have more power than this president. Americans are telling pollsters it’s not as much about voting for Republicans or Democrats as it is about sending a massive message to Donald Trump: Enough.

We are seeing a widening enthusiasm gap between those who want to slam the brakes on Trump and the MAGA agenda and those who are happy with the status quo. Poll after poll indicates that while Democrats, left-leaning independents, and MAGA Republicans are “very enthusiastic” about voting in November, non-MAGA Republicans are considerably less so, by double digits.

In a recent Washington Post poll, significantly more Democratic-leaning voters than Republicans believe it is “more important” to vote in the 2026 midterm election than in any previous midterms. Similar polling in 2018 portended a 40-seat loss for Republicans in the House.

Historically, midterm elections turn out fewer voters than presidential elections. That may change this cycle. Voter registration numbers are way up across the country. Vote.org, the country’s largest nonpartisan, non-profit voter registration platform, saw record-breaking voter registrations through the first half of the year.

Though primaries are not general elections, they can give us information about the mood of the voter. In this year’s primaries, Democrats came out in huge numbers. Texas and Michigan saw records broken. Republican numbers were on par with previous years. Voting begets voting. If people bothered to turn out for their primary, it is likely they will vote in the general election.

“If you talk to any Republican strategist working on campaigns this year, they’ll tell you the same thing: the biggest challenge they have is overcoming the turnout deficit, the enthusiasm gap. It’s enormous, between the two parties,” Martin said.

In the face of all this news, Trump is trying mightily to convince people to vote for Republicans. On Wednesday night in Dallas, he told a half-full convention hall to “pretend I am on the ballot,” because historically when he is, Republicans fare better.

That isn’t likely to work, but Trump has other plans to deliver the election or at least lessen his margin of defeat. He has been lying about election integrity for years, claiming American elections are unsafe, that noncitizens are voting in huge numbers, and the results can’t be trusted. He offers no proof because there isn’t any.

Trump demanded states redraw Congressional districts, signed an executive order to restrict mail-in voting, and then weaponized the Postal Service to be in charge of tracking and rejecting ballots. The Constitution decrees that the states, not USPS, not the president, are in charge of elections.

That hardly matters to him. What he cares about is convincing folks that fraud could happen. Then, if Democrats win, he can say, “See, told you so.” Then he can try to launch investigations and thwart certifications. Of course, if Republicans win, he will keep silent.

What can you do? What can any of us do?

A quick checklist:

• Make a plan to vote and do it now. The nonpartisan, nonprofit Vote411 offers all the tools to make planning easy.
  

• Register to vote. Click here to register in your state.
  


• If you are registered, check your registration so if there is an issue, you have time to fix it.
  


• Find out what voting options are available in your state.
• Can you vote early?
  
• Can you vote by mail? (Vote by mail if you must, but voting in person is preferred – especially this year when Trump is trying to create chaos with mail-in ballots)
  
• When do polls open and close?
  
• Where is your polling place?
  

• Once you have decided how you will vote in person, figure out how to get to the polls. There are many organizations that provide free rides, like RideShare2Vote.
  


• If you encounter a problem when voting, you can reach out to the Election Protection Coalition or call their hotline at 866-OUR-VOTE or 866-687-8683.
  


• If you want to do even more, consider becoming a poll worker to help safeguard our elections.
  

It cannot be said often enough: Vote like your democracy depends on it, because it does.

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Stay Steady,
Dan