# Midterm Cheating Watch **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Tags:** trump\ **Created:** [October 20, 2026, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/midterm-cheating-watch/1033989 "2026-10-20T01:49:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2026, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/midterm-cheating-watch/1033989/1 "2026-10-20T01:49:16Z")
This thread can start with discussion of whether my link captures what is likely, and can continue when we see how close any GOP election cheating actually is to the picture below: [Critical Conditions Podcast, Oct. 19, 2026](https://claireberlinski.substack.com/p/the-uses-of-chaos?utm_source=podcast-email%2Csubstack&publication_id=16235&post_id=221191869&utm_campaign=email-play-on-substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=play_card_play_button&r=2juke&triedRedirect=true) > [@](#): > > I am really worried about the midterms in the U.S. because I don’t see the Democrats doing what they ought to be doing now to prepare voters for the kinds of things that they’re going to see and that they’re certain to see in the elections as the result of a collaboration between Donald Trump, Elon Musk, and Vladimir Putin. And there’s a reason Trump did that diesel deal just before the midterms. He’s expecting Putin’s help. > > And the Democrats should be warning voters that there will be targeted A.I. messages that are psychographically focused on them that will tell them things that might sound even extremely plausible. As in Europe, they could see fake newspapers that are completely plausible, telling them that the vote has been canceled or telling them that the polling places have changed or telling them that a candidate has conceded. You could have a totally plausible concession speech, right, made entirely by A.I. and giving them a way to corroborate news. > > There should be a hotline [to report such to the Democratic Party] . . . > > I don’t see them preparing voters for the truth that they’re going to try to steal the election and not accept the results and so forth. P.S. This is from a never-Trump center-right podcast. I believe everything quoted above was said by Claire Berlinkski, who is talking with Dan Perry. ---
**Author:** ![Eric1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/3bc359/32.png) [@Eric1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eric1)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2026, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/midterm-cheating-watch/1033989/2 "2026-10-20T02:08:09Z")
For a hotline, can’t voters call 888-OUR-VOTE? I know it’s non partisan but that’s what I’ve sometimes contacted. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2026, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/midterm-cheating-watch/1033989/3 "2026-10-20T16:57:08Z")
> # U.S. officials privately advise states fearing Trump election meddling > > _Their private efforts have reached governors, election stewards and lawmakers from both parties who are increasingly alarmed that the administration may interfere in the midterms._ > > [https://wapo.st/4z2uENE](https://wapo.st/4z2uENE) > A small group of U.S. national security officials has been discreetly advising state governments and congressional lawmakers on how to prepare for the possibility that the Trump administration will attempt to interfere in November’s midterm elections, according to people involved in the effort. > > The group includes about **10 current and former officials with experience in the Defense Department** , some of whom have previously focused on countering authoritarianism abroad. > > Their efforts are motivated not by political bias, they say, but a growing sense of alarm that President Donald Trump will harm American democracy by undermining the integrity of the vote to keep the Republican Party in power. > … My bold. Some of the people Petey fired due to their testosterone deficiencies? Or maybe the had too much and he didn’t like coming up short? What a sad and pathetic commentary this is on our country. Former gov’t officials advising states _secretly_ in advance on protecting themselves from crimes that might be ordered by the president. 🙄 ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2026, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/midterm-cheating-watch/1033989/4 "2026-10-20T17:25:20Z")
Isn’t it getting late to affect the election? Studies show that some people don’t make up their minds until they are in the voting booth, but they are a small minority. Most already know. Additionally, early voting is far more widespread and popular than in the past. The primaries saw record numbers of early and mail-in balloting. The Republicans have been pouring in hundreds of millions already and the polls keep dropping for them. Sending out fake election times and places is an ancient ploy, and is easier today. Possibly an extremely close election could be decided by a very few dissuaded voters, but that’s unlikely to be a broad occurrence. > [@Claire Berlinkski](#): > > There should be a hotline [to report such to the Democratic Party]" And they’ll do what about it? Send out an email? A mass text? Such fakes are difficult to combat, especially at the last moment. ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2026, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/midterm-cheating-watch/1033989/5 "2026-10-20T17:30:59Z")
> [@PhillyGuy](#): > > I don’t see them preparing voters for the truth that they’re going to try to steal the election and not accept the results and so forth. I feel like saying “Republicans are going to steal the election” would just have the effect of making people stay home. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2026, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/midterm-cheating-watch/1033989/6 "2026-10-20T18:04:35Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > Isn’t it getting late to affect the election? Shenanigans can run right through the counting of the votes, and beyond. ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2026, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/midterm-cheating-watch/1033989/7 "2026-10-20T18:16:53Z")
> [@bobot](#): > > Shenanigans can run right through the counting of the votes, and beyond. And is much more likely post-election than trying to affect how people actually vote. (Although there will be some of that, too.) Just as with January 6th, Trump will try to undermine confidence in the integrity of the election process, attempt to strong arm election officials into changing vote tallies (think Georgia 2020) and work to keep the actual votes certified by Congress, if they don’t go his way. I’m much more concerned about these efforts at cheating than in efforts made to mess with what voters do in the voting booth. That said, it will be much harder for him to do if voters’ preferences are made clear by a strong vote for Dems. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2026, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/midterm-cheating-watch/1033989/8 "2026-10-21T14:04:34Z")
> [@Aspenglow](#): > > And is much more likely post-election than trying to affect how people actually vote. That’s what happened in 2020/2021. The fake elecrors’ scheme, the Jan 6 insurrection, the extortion call to Georgia, all after the election. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2026, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/midterm-cheating-watch/1033989/9 "2026-10-21T14:11:34Z")
> [@Aspenglow](#): > > it will be much harder for him to do if voters’ preferences are made clear by a strong vote for Dems. Yup. We need a high turnout, to make conclusions as definite as possible. I doubt that will stop them from trying, but it should help stop them from succeeding. ---
**Author:** ![ekedolphin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ekedolphin/32/10003_2.png) [@ekedolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekedolphin)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2026, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/midterm-cheating-watch/1033989/10 "2026-10-21T14:20:26Z")
Early voting in Texas has just started a short time ago, and someone is Astroturfing a “the trans people are coming for your children” campaign. > **[‘Trans’ Student Mailers Hit Texas Homes As Advocacy Group Denies Sending Them](https://dallasexpress.com/state/trans-student-mailers-hit-texas-homes-as-advocacy-group-denies-sending-them/)** > > Sara Gonzales says a Texas student mailer discusses emancipation. TENT denies authorizing the mailers or related unsolicited texts. The organization in question denies involvement with the mailers, which are being sent directly to the _students_ of families and include information on how to obtain gender-affirming care by going behind their parents’ backs. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2026, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/midterm-cheating-watch/1033989/11 "2026-10-21T15:17:09Z")
> **Unrelated post, disregard** > > I’m not up on the history of the period but in the 1850s the sudden collapse of the Whig party was what made room for the Republican party in our all but legislated two-party system. Having been radicalized in the past decade the best scenario I’m hoping for is an equally sudden collapse of the Republican party after a massive repudiation at the polls and its replacement by a radical left party. > > Then the two choices become – by European standards – centrist and leftist instead of radical right and centrist. The current-day MAGAts can then either vote for the corporate Democrats as the lesser of two evils, form an ineffective alternate party like the Libertarians or Greens, or stay home. ---
**Author:** ![Airbeck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/airbeck/32/6574_2.png) [@Airbeck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airbeck)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2026, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/midterm-cheating-watch/1033989/12 "2026-10-21T16:50:39Z")
So this is a secret organization trying to trans kids behind their parents’ backs and they are doing outreach by (checks notes) mailing flyers to the parents homes? Do I have that right? ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2026, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/midterm-cheating-watch/1033989/13 "2026-10-21T17:16:04Z")
> [@ekedolphin](#): > > Early voting in Texas has just started a short time ago, and someone is Astroturfing a “the trans people are coming for your children” campaign. That doesn’t look like Astroturfing, that looks like a false flag operation to me. Astroturfing is a situation where some large, well-funded organization puts together something that is pretending to be a grassroots organization. So then, fake grass, hence “Astroturfing”. In this case, it’s someone doing something despicable and pretending that it’s coming from a group it isn’t in order to defame that group. By pretending to be another group, they are effectively “waving a false flag”. I’m sure things will get cleared up though as authorities investigate this… > State Rep. Jeff Leach (R-District 67) called on Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) on October 13 to investigate organizations and individuals he alleged were helping Texans circumvent Senate Bill 12, _The Dallas Express_ [previously reported](https://dallasexpress.com/state/texas-lawmaker-accuses-trans-group-of-helping-evade-school-law-demands-paxton-probe/). Uh, never mind. Also, I wonder why the news article kept putting “transgender” in scare quotes. It’s not like those quotes are part of the organization’s branding (I checked). Is it because that’s how the texts and flyers wrote it? (I hope that’s why.) ---
**Author:** ![ekedolphin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ekedolphin/32/10003_2.png) [@ekedolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekedolphin)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2026, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/midterm-cheating-watch/1033989/14 "2026-10-21T17:46:34Z")
Right; false flag is the term I was looking for. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2026, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/midterm-cheating-watch/1033989/15 "2026-10-21T19:12:05Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > Isn’t it getting late to affect the election? Yeah, I already voted. But I guess they could seize ballots or something. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2026, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/midterm-cheating-watch/1033989/16 "2026-10-21T21:10:45Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > > [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > > > Isn’t it getting late to affect the election? > > Yeah, I already voted. But I guess they could seize ballots or something And a lot of people do still vote on the day. ---
**Author:** ![ekedolphin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ekedolphin/32/10003_2.png) [@ekedolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekedolphin)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2026, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/midterm-cheating-watch/1033989/17 "2026-10-21T21:25:21Z")
Early voters in Tennessee, Texas, Florida, and Ohio are finding that the machines default their votes to Republican even when they vote Democrat, and they have to persist, and oftentimes get poll workers involved. So much for Republicans wanting election integrity. Every accusation is a confession. > **[Dolly Parton’s sister, Stella, reminds voters to double check their ballots...](https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/politics/elections/2026/10/21/dolly-parton-sister-reports-early-voting-issue-how-verify-ballot/92363987007/)** > > Over the past few days, a number of voters, including Dolly Parton's sister, Stella Parton, have taken to social media to report problems with voting machines, saying the devices did not display their desired candidate or changed their selections. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2026, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/midterm-cheating-watch/1033989/18 "2026-10-21T21:49:10Z")
Are there places in Florida that use electronic-only ballots? Wikipedia says that the entire state uses electronically tabulated paper ballots (i.e. scantron), and furthermore it’s my experience that the machine that scans it does not tell you how it scanned your vote. Wikipedia of course could be wrong. So if my experience is valid statewide then it doesn’t seem like there would be a chance to notice your vote was flipped. Since you mark it down physically and then the machine reads it without any feedback. Furthermore, if there is a paper ballot, _if the ballot is saved_, then any flips that happen that egregiously often should be caught when you compare the paper ballots to the result. I can’t speak to other states since I have no experience voting in them and Wikipedia says that their systems are county by county, so it’s possible that some of those counties use electronic-only voting. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2026, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/midterm-cheating-watch/1033989/19 "2026-10-21T22:06:32Z")
I mean, sending Trump to campaign in Texas and Mississippi sure doesn’t sound like the acts of people who think they’re going to be able to make sure Republicans win no matter what. ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2026, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/midterm-cheating-watch/1033989/20 "2026-10-21T23:02:02Z")
> [@ekedolphin](#): > > Early voters in Tennessee, Texas, Florida, and Ohio are finding that the machines default their votes to Republican Since Trump literally had supporters pledge, last month, to [“cheat like hell”](https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/watch-trump-leads-rnc-in-pledge-to-cheat-like-hell-in-november-elections), I am quite open such reports. But it is in the nature of such that not every report will be correct. And this sounds a lot like reports from Trump’s 2016 run that turned out to be rather innocent and not necessarily favor one party. See: [NPR - Oct. 2016 - Some Machines Are Flipping Votes, But That Doesn’t Mean They’re Rigged](https://www.npr.org/2016/10/26/499450796/some-machines-are-flipping-votes-but-that-doesnt-mean-theyre-rigged) Maybe the 2016 problems were all with a machine type that is now out of service. I’m not drawing conclusions, just wanting to avoid a rush to judgment. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/midterm-cheating-watch/1033989.md?page=2)