How we are protecting free and fair elections in 2026

Trump has spent the first few months of this year focused on undermining elections. Lately, his priority bar none has been the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, or SAVE Act, a strict voter ID law that would limit voting access for millions. But over the past several months, we’ve also seen the administration sue officials in more than a dozen states for their voter lists, repeat calls to “nationalize” elections, and double down on seeking executive control over elections.

Faced with this deluge of attempts to undermine elections and remove confidence in their results, states and local governments need support now to advance free and fair elections. As concern about election integrity rises, election officials across the country are one last line of defense in ensuring that every voter, no matter their political persuasion, is able to cast their vote.

Election officials are those who work quietly in the background, preparing for problems before they happen, like power outages and locked polling stations. But now they’re dealing with crises of a larger scale. They’re figuring out how to ensure all voters can go to the polls safely and without intimidation, even if the National Guard or ICE are present. They’re responding to politically-motivated Department of Justice investigations and countering frivolous litigation to undermine the legitimacy of the election results. 

“What’s keeping me up at night as an election administrator?” Celestine Jeffreys, Green Bay, Wisconsin’s city clerk, has asked herself. “It’s federal officials at polling locations. It’s congressional observers. And it is the potential seizures of materials after the election.”

And these officials are overwhelmed. “Litigation and legal challenges are now part of election administration every day. It’s not just administering elections,” Paulina Esperanza Gutiérrez, executive director of the city of Milwaukee Election Commission, has said. “So now on top of all the things that are part of the job, we have to become experts in election law — which is not only complicated but also highly political.”

This is the reason why we’ve built a playbook to equip these impartial public servants with the guidance and legal support they need to carry out their critical roles and safeguard democracy. 

Our services include providing legal guidance and representation; helping election officials share best practices and collaborate with their peers across jurisdictions; and engaging in legal advocacy through amicus briefs and comments to the court that center the expertise of election clerks.

We’re a direct line of service that allows clerks to get answers to their questions in real time. And when bogus legislation comes down the pipeline, we help these officials access legal training and technical assistance, so that they understand how to best protect voters in their counties.

As litigation becomes weaponized as a tool of disruption by the federal government and its election denier allies, and more and more election offices are under capacity, partnerships to provide election officials with the help and resources they need to ensure that elections are free and fair are crucial.

Here’s what election officials we’ve worked with had to say:

“PRP plays a role in helping take away that noise and giving us the tools and resources we need so we know where to act.”

“I feel confident that PRP is an opportunity for us to not have to carry that weight on our own because we are not the only county dealing with this.”

“PRP’s work helps protect the thousands of amazing public servants dedicated to preserving our democracy.”

PRP is the only organization that engages in this kind of work to support election officials. In a crucial year for elections, we must ensure that these individuals aren’t left unsupported.