The BDN Opinion section operates independently and does not set news policies or contribute to reporting or editing articles elsewhere in the newspaper or on bangordailynews.com
William A. Lee III is an attorney, former chair of the Maine Ethics Commission and former adjunct professor in government and administrative science at Colby College.
Many people are warning that President Donald Trump will interfere with the midterm elections. Others say that this is an alarmist position, and that he cannot interfere because elections are controlled by the states, pursuant to Article I, Section 4, of the Constitution. To determine if Trump presents a threat to the midterm elections, I believe one needs to look at the type of person he is and what he has said and done.
In an interview with the New York Times in January, President Trump said that his power as president is only limited by his “own morality.” Trump has 34 felony convictions for fraud; was found guilty of sexual abuse by a civil jury; and in a 2005 Access Hollywood video bragged that as a celebrity he could grab a woman by the genitals and get away with it.
His “own morality” is not going to prevent him from interfering with the midterm elections.
I believe Trump is an extreme narcissist. He cannot stand to lose and cannot ever admit to being wrong. Elections are only fair when he wins.
The interference has already begun. In 2025, Trump began pressuring legislatures in Republican dominated states to do a mid-decade gerrymandering of districts to increase Republican representation in Congress. Most of these states caved to the pressure.
Trump recently issued an executive order to create a list of eligible voters in each state with instructions to the U.S. Postal Service to only send ballots by mail to voters on these lists. This executive order should be found to be unconstitutional, as states control elections, but the attempted interference with elections will continue.
To combat what Trump claims is massive fraud by Democrats in voting, he is pressuring the Senate to eliminate the 60-vote requirement to be able to pass the SAVE America Act. This act would require people registering to vote to prove citizenship with documents such as a passport or birth certificate. To actually vote would require presentation of a government ID. It would also require states to turn over voter data to the Department of Homeland Security for inspection and restrict the use of mail-in ballots.
Opponents of this bill point out that non-citizen voting in federal elections is a crime, and that non-citizen voting is exceedingly rare. They also point out that many people do not have their birth certificate or a passport, and that people who have changed their names through marriage or divorce would face an additional burden. Sen. Angus King said that the act “is a solution in search of a problem.” There is no fraud of any significance, but it is estimated that the SAVE America Act would disenfranchise millions of eligible voters.
Trump could claim some sort of national emergency and seize ballots while they are being counted. He already had ballots from the 2020 election in Georgia seized, as he continues to claim there was fraud, despite a number of recounts proving otherwise.
Deputy U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche recently supported sending ICE agents to polling places. Having armed ICE agents at polling places would have a chilling effect on voting. We cannot allow that to happen.
Trump might send military forces, which are separate from ICE, to polling places. While this is prohibited by federal law, Trump might invoke the Insurrection Act to interfere in the elections. The Insurrection Act gives the president the authority to deploy military forces domestically if a state is unable to suppress an insurrection or is defying federal law. It is not hard to imagine Trump declaring there is an insurrection, or that states are defying federal law, to justify sending in military forces to Democratic leaning states at election time.
As Trump’s popularity continues to decline, we should expect such actions and possibly more.
There are several things ordinary citizens can do to ensure the midterm elections are fair:
Email Sen. Susan Collins to urge her to vote against the SAVE America Act. Last November, Maine decisively rejected a referendum similar to the SAVE America Act. I believe she needs to be reminded that she represents us, not President Trump.
Email Gov. Janet Mills to urge her to issue an executive order prohibiting the presence of ICE, Border Patrol and the military at the polls in Maine.
Be prepared to protest peacefully and to record the actions of those who attempt to interfere with the midterm elections. The protests in Minneapolis, and the recording of events there, likely ultimately led to the withdrawal of ICE.
Contribute what you can to organizations working to protect voting and other civil liberties.
Remember to vote. If you don’t, you are not in much of a position to complain about the results.
