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Some MAGA loyalists have turned on Trump. Why the rest haven’t

Some MAGA loyalists have turned on Trump. Why the rest haven’t

Independents and Republicans May Hold the Power in Los Angeles – If They Actually Vote

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Claim: Other countries can counterfeit ballots to affect our elections. Fact check: False

President Trump discussing foreign interference in elections

President Trump, at press conference Sept. 23, alleged foreign actors will interfere with the election through the use of counterfeit ballots.

Joshua Roberts/Getty Images
Nicole Girten
By Nicole GirtenSep 25, 2020
Nicole Girten
Nicole Girten, Medill School is a contributor for The Fulcrum, a nonpartisan publication dedicated to strengthening democracy by fostering informed civic engagement and elevating diverse perspectives.
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"And if foreign countries want to, this is an easy system to break into because they'll do counterfeit ballots. They'll do counterfeit ballots by the millions. So when you talk about China, Russia, North Korea, Iran, all the countries you talk about, that's peanuts — that's all peanuts compared to this. But this is their opening, because they can use nice, cheap ballots, and they can send them out, counterfeit them, and just send them in. This is a disaster, and they should stop it before it's too late." — President Trump speaking to a Sept. 23, 2020, press conference

On Wednesday, President Trump gave remarks to the press during a discussion with state attorneys general and said foreign countries could send counterfeit ballots to the United States. The president made similar claims in June when he tweeted, "RIGGED 2020 ELECTION: MILLIONS OF MAIL-IN BALLOTS WILL BE PRINTED BY FOREIGN COUNTRIES, AND OTHERS. IT WILL BE THE SCANDAL OF OUR TIMES!" U.S. Attorney General William Barr echoed Trump's claims about foreign interference earlier this month saying, "Foreign intelligence services are very able. They can counterfeit currency and they have a lot of capacity. And I don't think counterfeiting a state ballot is particularly challenging for them if they wanted to do it."

Lawrence Norden, director of the Election Reform Program for the Brennan Center for Justice at the New York School of Law, told USA Today, "forging mail ballots is not a serious threat." Norden explained that because local authorities collect returned ballots in secrecy envelopes, which in many states are bar-coded with unique identifiers to the voter, it would be impractical. Many states require voters to provide personal information like the last four digits of a voter's Social Security number or the voter's signature. A forged ballot would also require meeting the specifications to be read by the voting machines in that jurisdiction. "In other words, there are security measures in place that make the kind of scheme he's imagining impossible," Norden said. Also the ballots are printed on paper, making it easier to conduct a recount if necessary.


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The Supreme Court’s Voting Rights Decision Could Reshape Local Government Across Texas

A landmark Supreme Court ruling on the Voting Rights Act could reshape Latino and Black political representation in Texas. Guillermo Ramos and other leaders warn the decision may weaken protections against discriminatory election systems in school boards and city councils.

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In 2024, young Americans were expected to be the stabilizing force in U.S. politics. But instead, they emerged as one of its most paradoxical constituencies: increasingly disillusioned, economically anxious, and sharply divided. Millennials and Gen Z are rapidly becoming the demographic center of political power: by 2028, they may account for nearly half of the electorate. Yet, according to the Spring 2025 Harvard Youth Poll conducted by the Harvard Kennedy School Institute of Politics, only 19% of young Americans trust the federal government to do the right thing most or all of the time. Just 13% believe the country is headed in the right direction. The question arises: will this generation accelerate democratic fragmentation, or help rebuild a more resilient civic culture?

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