A Cynical Ploy

This letter to the editor, by John Krizek, appeared in the Hudson Star Observer on February 12, 2026.

The recent seizure by Donald Trump’s FBI of all 2020 presidential election ballots from the State of Georgia is a disturbing overreach of federal authority and a direct violation of our Constitution. The right to administer free and fair elections belongs to the states, not Washington — and certainly not to a politicized federal agency acting at the direction of the executive.

The troubling pattern emerging from this administration is a selective push to “nationalize” elections only in Democratic-leaning or closely contested states. If that’s not a partisan misuse of power, what is? Our framers were deliberate in placing election administration in state hands to prevent exactly this kind of federal manipulation.

The latest threat from the Trump administration is that ICE will monitor all polling places during the midterm elections. Though federal and state laws generally prohibit Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other armed federal agents from conducting enforcement activities at polling places. Polling locations are considered “sensitive” areas and voter intimidation is illegal.

The next move seems clear: when Democrats, civil rights advocates and state officials object to this unlawful intrusion, Trump will brand them as being against “fair elections.” It’s a cynical ploy — one designed to justify federal control over key states and possibly tilt the 2026 midterms under the guise of “election integrity.”

Every American, regardless of party, should be alarmed. We must defend the constitutional principle of state sovereignty in elections and reject any attempt to federalize or commandeer them for political advantage. The preservation of our democracy depends on it.

Tell your elected representatives in Congress to put our Country and our Constitution first and, regardless of their party, to perform their Constitutional duties to rein in Mr. Trump and protect our state’s rights.