Democracy Docket leader Marc Elias is fresh off a Wisconsin Supreme Court win where he fought to keep drop boxes for ballots in the upcoming election.
However, as word spreads about "Project 2025," Elias warns that the pro-Donald Trump team at the state and federal levels is preparing to fight to implement their strategy. This time, he cautions, they're more prepared. Project 2025 is an effort by the Heritage Foundation crafted by Trump allies for the second administration.
"The GOP itself has filed at least 40 active anti-voting lawsuits this election cycle while the RNC has filed nine," MSNBC's Nicolle Wallace said.
Read also: Trump winning Wisconsin could hinge on an insidious voting practice
"My worry is that what's happening in the states is not a fair fight, right?" Wallace confessed. Republicans fooled the law "that there was fraud in 2020 when there was none, have actually made a depressing amount of progress in voting in 2024."
Elias explained that it's easy to make fun of Republicans for fighting the 64 lawsuits from the 2020 election, but lawyers like Rudy Giuliani and Sydney Powell are not the lawyers involved in court now.
"The lawyers they are sending into court today are — they may not be the best lawyers in the world, but they are much better lawyers, and they have learned from the humiliating errors that their predecessors made," cautioned Elias. "And they are in state legislatures, and in state capitols, and in courtrooms around this country advancing dangerous theories."
Elias explained that he has been working for years to ensure voter safety during the election. But he also fears the "power grab" he expects will happen when Trump takes over.
He anticipates Trump will allege there were illegal voters if he loses or the ballots weren't secure. But if he wins in 2020, laws will be implemented to make it difficult to vote him out.
"A lot of the conservative concern after 2016 when he won was he and his band of misfits were incompetent in seizing power," Elias said. "This is an effort to make them competent in seizing power, punishing their enemies, rewarding their friends, and frankly, not giving up power."
For now, Elias said that he was fighting tooth and nail to protect access to the ballot, and he's got a promising reason for hope.
"I can point to state after state after state where, you know, democracy is on the docket. Democracy is winning," Elias promised. "It doesn't mean we win everywhere, but we win more places than people think. It's important for everyone to recognize."
He continued: "The cynics want you to give up on the courts. The cynics want you to believe that it is inevitable that voter suppression and subverters will have their way. It is our job not just to tell the truth about what is happening, which is not always very good news, but also not to bury the fact that we can make a difference when we fight."
See his full comments in the video below or at the link here.
Lawyers 'learned from humiliating errors' and is ready to fight for Trump: expert www.youtube.com
Trump's team 'learned from humiliating errors' and are ready to fight: expert www.youtube.com
