# What will happen if GOP steals the 2026 election? What should happen? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Tags:** trump\ **Created:** [September 8, 2026, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-happen-if-gop-steals-the-2026-election-what-should-happen/1032891 "2026-09-08T03:48:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Gordon\_G](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3da27b/32.png) [@Gordon\_G](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gordon_G)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2026, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-happen-if-gop-steals-the-2026-election-what-should-happen/1032891/21 "2026-10-21T18:35:21Z")
The Executive Branch of the U.S. Government is now almost completely controlled by a major crime sydicate. The Legislative Branch, as of now, has largely refused to challenge the criminals. We hope that the coming elections will help change that, but even if successful, Trump will still have veto power and the MAGGOTs will retain enough power to prevent any super-majority needed to over-ride or impeach. That leaves the Judicial Branch. But Trump and his thugs have consistently refused to obey court orders. It is very rare for judges to hold a lawyer in contempt, but Glenn Kirschner points out that a few judges have held DoJ lawyers in contempt and the DoJ thugs have then obeyed judicial orders to “purge the contempt.” This remedy should be used more. I wonder what the mechanics of contempt are if the DoJ sends lawyers who don’t care about disbarment, or doesn’t respond to mandatory appearances at all. Can the court bailiff handcuff a lawyer found in contempt? The political and judicial situations MIGHT deteriorate further if Americans regain control of one or both House of Congress, but we still hope for that. We all hope that the fears of “conspiracy theorists” do not come to pass. > [@Atamasama](#): > > > [@Gordon\_G](#): > > > > NOT a thought exercise. I think there is high probability that blatant election theft WILL happen. > > Yeah, no. > > > [@Gordon\_G](#): > > > > Exactly how will they cheat? I don’t know; there are MANY possibilities. > > So this is a conspiracy theory thread, got it. Good thing you put it in the Pit. Here are the recent worries of another Conspiracy Theorist. Any of you naysayers want to guess what fringe YouTube channel I pulled this from? > [@Another Conspiracy Theorist](#): > > … many Americans continue to underestimate one particular potential threat to our economic future: President Trump’s clearly expressed desire to interfere with and even usurp the midterm elections. Nov. 3 could be a defining test for the rule of law in this country, and both our democracy and our prosperity are on the line. There is a chance — some would argue a likelihood — that the midterms will proceed smoothly and honestly, with the winners seated in a straightforward manner. There is also the possibility that the election will be, like so much else over the past two years, chaotic at best and lawless at worst. From amplifying false claims of fraud and slashing defenses against foreign meddling in our elections to attempting to bully states into using an error-prone database to purge voter registrations, the Trump administration has already thrown up obstacles to fair and free midterm elections. There are widespread fears Mr. Trump and his allies could go further, including by sending armed federal agents to polling locations, seizing ballot boxes and involving the clerk of the House that could enable them to refuse to seat duly elected Democratic members when the new Congress convenes on Jan. 3. If the Trump administration launches an effort to manipulate the outcome of the midterms, the economic impact could be felt immediately, and it could last long after Mr. Trump’s presidency ends… The short-term risks from election interference look even more concerning when we consider the possibility that a fight over the outcomes will not necessarily remain contained to the courtroom. Mr. Trump has explicitly refused to rule out invoking the Insurrection Act in regard to the 2026 elections. Starting in late 2025, a surge of immigration enforcement agents into Minneapolis cost the city, its businesses and its residents an estimated $700 million. Sustained post-election chaos coupled with aggressive federal interference could create similar disruptions on a nationwide scale. > … The integrity of our elections, in other words, has been one of the keys to American prosperity. The United States has not yet seen its economy suffer from a lack of confidence in its legal system. … A contested or overturned election could call that into question. When I talk to leaders in business and politics, even many of those who acknowledge the election threat seem to consider such a possibility remote. They do not tend to take Mr. Trump’s attacks on voting seriously. That’s another way of saying that the markets are not pricing in what I consider a meaningful risk. If Mr. Trump accomplishes in 2026 what he was unable to with respect to the 2020 election, or even if he causes widespread chaos by coming closer to his objective, it could create serious disruptions … ---
**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, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-happen-if-gop-steals-the-2026-election-what-should-happen/1032891/22 "2026-10-21T19:04:33Z")
Sending thugs to the polling places is interference with the election, not theft. Theft involves secretively manipulating election results without being caught, which is a massive conspiracy theory (especially as it requires coordination with state governments). What the person you quoted was saying is scary and possible, and very different than what you proposed in the OP which is paranoia. ---
**Author:** ![Thing.Fish](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thing.fish/32/9168_2.png) [@Thing.Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing.Fish)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2026, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-happen-if-gop-steals-the-2026-election-what-should-happen/1032891/23 "2026-10-22T15:37:08Z")
I don’t think there’s any way they could “steal” the election or nullify the results without it being blindingly obvious that they were doing so. Therefore, this just reduces to the general question of “what if Trump staged a coup and crowned himself Emperor?”. Either the Congress and Courts would stop him, or the military would, or nobody would. I’m pretty sure it would be one of those first two, but I’m afraid we may have to find out. ---
**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 22, 2026, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-happen-if-gop-steals-the-2026-election-what-should-happen/1032891/24 "2026-10-22T15:53:27Z")
Yeah; the threat of fascists just saying “fuck it” to law and democracy and just trying to take over by force is a real threat and has been becoming more and more credible as time goes on and the Republican Party gets bolder and Trump seems to just get away with shit. But there’s a difference between that and stealing an election, where people think it’s legitimate and go along because the cheaters are too sneaky to get caught. We seem to have too many safeguards in place for anyone to cheat like that on such a scale as to actually steal whole elections. We know that _attempts_ to steal the election happen at a smaller scale, especially from folks on the right, because they keep getting caught. Whether that’s voting illegally, trying to put in fake electors, or any other half-baked scheme, they don’t work. The people who cry the most about elections being stolen are folks on the right throwing temper tantrums when they don’t get their way. But they have zero credible evidence of it, because it’s just not happening. The conspiracy theorists are of course saying that the lack of evidence is just evidence of how sneaky the conspirators are, but that’s just lizard people CIA mind control ray bullshit paranoia. And these same politicians who thump a podium and yell into a microphone about how the election is stolen are suddenly much more reserved when they end up in court and have to swear under oath, and instead nitpick about procedural issues (and overwhelmingly lose their cases anyway). It doesn’t behoove us to jump into the tin foil hat army and declare that Republicans _must_ be working behind the scenes to rig things and therefore determine any victory they have to be illegitimate. That is just MAGA thinking, and that’s exactly what is leading to the erosion of democracy. Democracy only works when people can trust that the election system is secure, and can trust that if there isn’t any evidence of cheating that it isn’t happening. If you start pushing theories that undermine democracy, all that you are ultimately doing is furthering the cause of fascism, regardless of your intentions. And if the election system really isn’t working because someone is able to somehow successfully rig everything and make elections meaningless then we’ve already lost democracy and it’s too late anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2026, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-happen-if-gop-steals-the-2026-election-what-should-happen/1032891/25 "2026-10-22T16:44:02Z")
I feel you’re being too cavalier in dismissing the possibility. Here’s what we know as facts: The Republican party has engaged in a decades-long program of manipulating elections by “legal” means such as disenfranchising targeted voters and controlling voting locations. So the Republican party has no concerns about democracy as a principle. The Republican party has condoned criminal activity by Republican office holders. So the Republican party has no concerns about the rule of law as a principle. So your argument seems to be that while we know that the Republicans are willing to undermine democracy and we know that the Republicans are willing to commit illegal acts, we should believe that the Republicans won’t illegally undermine democracy. And I don’t see any reason to believe that. ---
**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 22, 2026, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-happen-if-gop-steals-the-2026-election-what-should-happen/1032891/26 "2026-10-22T17:02:43Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > So your argument seems to be that while we know that the Republicans are willing to undermine democracy and we know that the Republicans are willing to commit illegal acts, we should believe that the Republicans won’t illegally undermine democracy. And I don’t see any reason to believe that. I just wrote a pretty lengthy post in this thread about how Republicans have been illegally undermining democracy, so that’s a really bizarre take. I’m specifically talking about _stealing elections_. If you want to get loose about what that means, then we can plausibly say that Democrats have stolen elections for generations through gerrymandering (as have Republicans, of course). I think that the generic “steal” term is probably meaningless. I’ve been using it the way the public has used it in recent years; specifically the bullshit that MAGA claims is happening via “stop the steal”. If there are specific tactics to talk about, then that’s worthwhile. Disenfranchisement is indeed a problem and a documented one. I’ve previously shared on this forum about Project REDMAP, which is a real, documented and large coordinated effort by Republicans to subvert democracy. Here is a web site: > **[Project REDMAP - NDRC](https://democraticredistricting.com/resources/project-redmap/)** > > How Republicans Stole Our Democracy In 2010, the Republican Party began executing a coordinated redistricting strategy to fundamentally change the landscape of American politics: Project REDMAP (Redistricting Majority Project).  Republicans... Jeffrey Wright talked about redistricting and other forms of disenfranchisement in an excellent PBS documentary I recommend everyone watch if they can (the site currently says it’s not playable here at least): > **[THIRTEEN Specials | Rigged: The Voter Suppression Playbook](https://www.pbs.org/video/rigged-the-voter-suppression-playbook-6ejoue/)** > > Jeffrey Wright narrates the story of America’s democracy being threatened. I’m well aware of these efforts. I’m concerned about them. It’s actually my biggest political concern, more than inflation, or ICE, or climate change, or any of that stuff. Because when we lose our democracy we lose everything. I’ve had pollsters call me and given that as my biggest concern in multiple elections. What I’m pushing back on is the idea of secretive election rigging. We know that Republicans are trying to undermine the election process by arbitrarily knocking folks off of the voter rolls, by redistricting, by closing polling locations in Democrat-heavy areas, by trying to pass laws to make it harder for certain people to vote (such as unnecessary ID requirements, resisting mail-in vote options, and so on). Those are documented. They’re a concern but they’re not being done in secret. And blatant efforts to disrupt democracy (like January 6 or sending out National Guard troops or whatever) are possible but aren’t secretive. It’s the conspiracy theories about secretive stuff that massively sway major elections that I call BS. Elections are being legitimately harmed by legal erosion over time by corrupt politicians, and can be disrupted all at once by someone deciding to flip the board and knock off all of the chess pieces. But I don’t consider that “stealing” an election. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2026, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-happen-if-gop-steals-the-2026-election-what-should-happen/1032891/27 "2026-10-23T02:59:09Z")
When I say stealing an election, I mean when what you’re doing is a felony. Not just influencing the outcome of the results but actually changing the results after voting has occurred. Look at Trump’s unexpected gains among black and hispanic voters in 2024 after running an openly racist administrations in his first term. People have tried to come up with various explanations about why minority voters would switch to Trump. One possible explanation is that they didn’t switch to Trump; they voted for Harris and then the voting machines switched their votes to Trump. After all if you’re going to rig the system, you get the most effect by doing it among voters who are least likely to vote for you. Or as Trump himself said, “Elon Mush knows those vote counting computers better than anybody.” ---
**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 23, 2026, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-happen-if-gop-steals-the-2026-election-what-should-happen/1032891/28 "2026-10-23T03:34:56Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Or as Trump himself said, “Elon Mush knows those vote counting computers better than anybody.” I invite you to consider the possibility that Donald Trump is full of shit, as evidenced by the fact that he thinks Elon is some sort of computer genius and not just a finance bro who got lucky. ---
**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 23, 2026, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-happen-if-gop-steals-the-2026-election-what-should-happen/1032891/29 "2026-10-23T03:49:02Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > People have tried to come up with various explanations about why minority voters would switch to Trump. One possible explanation is that they didn’t switch to Trump; they voted for Harris and then the voting machines switched their votes to Trump. After all if you’re going to rig the system, you get the most effect by doing it among voters who are least likely to vote for you. This is the MAGA-level BS I was talking about. This is absolutely no different than Trump and Giuliani insisting that the election was stolen for Biden. There’s no evidence and you are stooping to their level. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2026, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-happen-if-gop-steals-the-2026-election-what-should-happen/1032891/30 "2026-10-23T04:19:35Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > This is the MAGA-level BS I was talking about. This is absolutely no different than Trump and Giuliani insisting that the election was stolen for Biden. There’s no evidence and you are stooping to their level. There’s a major difference. Joe Biden didn’t publicly attribute his victory to somebody knowing how vote counting computers work. Donald Trump did. ---
**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 23, 2026, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-happen-if-gop-steals-the-2026-election-what-should-happen/1032891/31 "2026-10-23T04:24:34Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > There’s a major difference. The difference is that Trump is a serial liar as Smapti pointed out. You’re basing an election conspiracy on things Trump has claimed? Do you realize how that sounds? ---
**Author:** ![Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kolak_of_twilo/32/73_2.png) [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolak_of_Twilo)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2026, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-happen-if-gop-steals-the-2026-election-what-should-happen/1032891/32 "2026-10-23T05:21:23Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > Do you realize how that sounds? ::hand raised:: I do! I do! Please call on me! (“Like a clown” is the answer. Sounds. Like. A. Clown.) ---
**Author:** ![CobaltBlade75](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9de053/32.png) [@CobaltBlade75](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CobaltBlade75)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2026, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-happen-if-gop-steals-the-2026-election-what-should-happen/1032891/33 "2026-10-23T05:26:15Z")
I think the key is to name the specific mechanism you fear—certification refusals, gerrymandering, voter suppression, or court intervention—because each calls for a different response. Which of those seems most plausible to you in 2026? ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2026, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-happen-if-gop-steals-the-2026-election-what-should-happen/1032891/34 "2026-10-23T05:34:16Z")
How about almost all of it, and telling people to focus on one thing opens the door to the rest of it. This is a multi facetted attack. ---
**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 23, 2026, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-happen-if-gop-steals-the-2026-election-what-should-happen/1032891/35 "2026-10-23T05:38:34Z")
> [@CobaltBlade75](#): > > I think the key is to name the specific mechanism you fear—certification refusals, gerrymandering, voter suppression, or court intervention—because each calls for a different response. I fear all of the things you’ve listed, and they’ve all already happened to some degree. That makes them legitimate fears IMHO. It’s one thing to worry about what might happen, it’s another to know what has already happened and worry about it continuing to happen. ---
**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 23, 2026, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-happen-if-gop-steals-the-2026-election-what-should-happen/1032891/36 "2026-10-23T05:39:00Z")
The thing is, there’s no such thing as one “_the_ election” to steal. There are _3,000_ or so elections, organized at the county level, across 57 states and other polities that comprise the United States. The system is far too decentralized to “steal” in any meaningful way. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2026, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-happen-if-gop-steals-the-2026-election-what-should-happen/1032891/37 "2026-10-23T05:43:17Z")
Ever played Whack-A-Mole? Which “mole” are we supposed to be concentrating on? Tell you what-Why don’t you tell us what we should be concentrating on the most when it comes the next election? ---
**Author:** ![Gordon\_G](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3da27b/32.png) [@Gordon\_G](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gordon_G)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2026, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-happen-if-gop-steals-the-2026-election-what-should-happen/1032891/38 "2026-10-23T05:48:27Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > How about almost all of it, and telling people to focus on one thing opens the door to the rest of it. This is a multi facetted attack Yes. Thugs working for USPS may be discarding mail. Supreme Court – mere days before The Tuesday – has outlawed student IDs for voting. ICE or amateurs are already intimidating non-whites from presenting at polls. MAGGATS, acting on Trump’s public requests, may be trashing votes. Et cetera. The chaos will become an excuse for lawsuits and worse. Court orders will be defied. Seating may be denied for some new Congresspeople. Even if most of the threats are overcome, faith in The Great American Democracy will evaporate permanently. I am dismayed by the deniers in this thread. Surely the blatant criminality of this regime should be quite apparent by now. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2026, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-happen-if-gop-steals-the-2026-election-what-should-happen/1032891/39 "2026-10-23T13:43:58Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > The difference is that Trump is a serial liar as Smapti pointed out. You’re basing an election conspiracy on things Trump has claimed? Do you realize how that sounds? So if I’m following you here, you agree that if Trump had been telling the truth when he made this statement, then he would be admitting to stealing votes. Now can you come up with any plausible reason why Trump would have not stolen those votes and then chosen to lie and confess to stealing them? Why would he brag about committing a crime that he was innocent of? ---
**Author:** ![DWMarch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dwmarch/32/1010_2.png) [@DWMarch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DWMarch)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2026, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-happen-if-gop-steals-the-2026-election-what-should-happen/1032891/40 "2026-10-23T17:08:35Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > This is the MAGA-level BS I was talking about. This is absolutely no different than Trump and Giuliani insisting that the election was stolen for Biden. There’s no evidence and you are stooping to their level. I know anecdote does not equal data but here you go: > **[Dolly Parton’s Sister Alleges Faulty Voting in Home State](https://www.thedailybeast.com/obsessed/dolly-partons-sister-stella-exposes-faulty-voting-in-home-state)** > > Stella Parton is encouraging voters to be careful. There have been stories about the Trump administration trying to figure out how to hack or reverse engineer voting machines. While I understand and acknowledge that evidence of this is sparse (at this moment), it is certainly an idea that has occurred to them and that they have spent at least some time and effort investigating. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-happen-if-gop-steals-the-2026-election-what-should-happen/1032891.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-happen-if-gop-steals-the-2026-election-what-should-happen/1032891.md?page=3)