Kathrine Frich
They worry the president might put Republican power ahead of the country.
Every few years, millions of citizens head to the polls expecting a quiet, routine process.
You cast your ballot, watch the evening returns, and trust the system to count every vote fairly.
Behind closed doors, however, a quiet effort is already underway to prepare for something far more turbulent.
Secret contingency plans
As polls point toward a major Democratic wave on November 3, national security insiders are privately preparing for a scenario where 80-year-old US President Donald Trump rejects the midterm results, according to The Daily Beast and The Washington Post.
On Tuesday, The Washington Post reported that ten current and former Defense Department figures from various political backgrounds have teamed up with lawmakers and state leaders to safeguard the vote.
They worry the president might put Republican power ahead of the country, and they have already held talks with leaders in at least ten states.
“All of them have said we’re concerned but we don’t know what to do,” a member of the group told The Washington Post. “The outcome that we hope for is that states would be prepared for any contingencies should they arise.”
Warnings of a repeat
While The Daily Beast noted the White House did not immediately answer its request for comment, spokesperson Lauren Bis defended the government’s record to The Washington Post.
She stated the administration “is taking decisive action to protect our elections, including prosecuting election crimes, strengthening election infrastructure security, and protecting vulnerable voters from fraud and coercion.”
Still, memories of the first Trump term linger. According to The Daily Beast, his unfounded claims of voting fraud previously led to the January 6 Capitol riot, which left five people dead and was followed by four police suicides.
Last month, retired conservative judge J. Michael Luttig, an appointee of former President George H.W. Bush, warned in The New Republic that “another Jan. 6” could play out on January 3, 2027, when the new House takes office.
“Today’s congressional Republicans took a blood oath six years ago not just to put their party before their country, but to put Donald Trump before their country,” Luttig wrote, adding that “only weeks before the midterm elections, House Republicans have already sworn their allegiance to Donald Trump and doomed the U.S. to another Jan. 6 next Jan. 3.”
In plain sight
Local voting workers share those nerves. Tammy Patrick of the National Association of Election Officials told The Washington Post that interference is a major worry across the country.
In August, a federal judge stopped the US Postal Service from bringing in rules that let the administration choose who can use mail-in ballots, The Daily Beast reported. Then last month, Trump posted on Truth Social that “Voting in America is CORRUPT!!!”
“All of these things,” Patrick told The Washington Post, “are being done in the open.
