From “The Real Reason to Worry About the Midterm Elections: Some worry about a November Trump coup. That’s far-fetched, but the ordinary forms of voter suppression are the greater concern” by Robert Kuttner at The American Prospect:

…Trump has been desperately trying to gain control of the election machinery, so far to no avail. His executive orders trying to assert control over electoral machinery that the Constitution clearly gives to the states have been blocked by the courts. The SAVE America Act, which would accomplish the same thing by statute, was passed by the House but died in the Senate.

Trump still hopes to use his control of the Postal Service to undermine the use of mail-in ballots, and to find a way to require photo ID, all on the bogus and discredited premise that illegal voting is rampant. One vexing problem is that even if election officials in blue and purple states reject Trump’s demands to turn over election records for federal purging, Republican officials in some states are going along. This is being challenged in court.

How far would Trump go? In the nightmare scenarios posed by some concerned groups, Trump waits until Election Day, claims that Iran has hacked the election, declares a national emergency, and suspends the election until the accuracy of polling can be assured. Delay is deadly. In some versions of the nightmare, Trump sends in ICE to seize ballot boxes and voting machines.

…MOST LEADERS IN THE “DEFEND DEMOCRACY” CAMP are more worried about the ordinary forms of voter suppression, which Trump and his allies in MAGA-controlled states will surely try to take to new depths this year. This includes not only familiar tactics such as purging voter rolls, intimidating poll watchers and local election officials, changing locations where voters may cast ballots, reducing the number of polling places, and altering the rules and procedures on mail-in ballots.

…Miles Rapoport, former Connecticut secretary of the state and the present leader of 100% Democracy (and a Prospect board member), put it this way: “We can all imagine nightmare scenarios, but they are both unlikely and unhelpful. It’s more important that secretaries of state, pro-democracy legal and advocacy organizations, the courts, and an alerted citizenry push back effectively and make the elections work.”

Whether you are more concerned about a somewhat far-fetched risk of an attempted coup, or about familiar forms of voter suppression taken to new extremes, the remedy is the same. The people need to turn out in record numbers, both to vote and if necessary to face down ICE.”

More here