Trump admin hit with stinging defeat in midterm-rigging scheme

A federal judge handed President Donald Trump's administration another stinging defeat in its bid to rig the 2026 midterm elections, according to a new report.

For months, Trump's Department of Justice has been trying to access state voter rolls under the guise of inspecting them for fraud. Some Democratically-controlled states have pushed back and sued the administration, while Republican-led states appeared quick to comply with the spurious demand.

On Thursday, a federal judge in California, David O. Carter, ruled that the administration was prohibited from accessing the state's voter rolls, The Washington Post reported. He also called into question the motives behind the administration's attempt.

“The centralization of this information by the federal government would have a chilling effect on voter registration, which would inevitably lead to decreasing voter turnout as voters fear that their information is being used for some inappropriate or unlawful purpose,” Carter wrote in his decision.

“This risk threatens the right to vote, which is the cornerstone of American democracy,” he added.

Carter's decision comes at a time when the Trump administration appears to be scrambling for ways to influence the results of the 2026 midterm election. Trump has even floated the idea of cancelling the election on more than one occasion.

Last year, Trump pressured several Republican-controlled states to change their election maps to favor Republicans. The map passed in Texas was challenged by voting rights groups, but the Supreme Court ultimately allowed the state to use its new map in the upcoming election.

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