Table of Contents
- Part 1: Election Denier's Playbook (now reading)
- Part 2: The Birth of the Big Lie
- Part 3: Election Denial on the Ballot (Sept. 15)
- Part 4: Defending Democracy from New Threats (Sept. 16)
- Part 5: The Midterm We Can't Afford to Sit Out (Sept. 22)
President Trump, his administration, and his political co-conspirators in Arizona are preparing to undermine the 2026 election — but only if they don’t like the results. They’re reviving tactics from Trump’s election denial playbook that led to the January 6 riot at the U.S. capitol and the widely criticized audit of Maricopa County’s election results conducted by the now defunct Cyber Ninjas.
Since returning to office, the 47th president has wasted no time targeting states that refused to participate in his attempt to overturn the 2020 election results — presenting a dangerous threat to this year’s midterms. Earlier this year, federal agents executed a search on an election office in Fulton County, Georgia, seizing records tied to the 2020 election. And in March, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) subpoenaed records from the botched audit that ultimately proved Joe Biden won Maricopa County in 2020. At the same time, the Department of Justice continues to seek voter registration data from county elections officials, including Arizona, in an effort to back some of Trump’s wildest voter fraud claims.
From Audits to Courts: Evidence Against Election Denialism
What makes these actions even more striking is that the assertion underlying them — that the 2020 election was stolen — has been exhaustively tested and debunked at every level of the American legal and governmental system. Over 60 lawsuits challenging the 2020 results were filed in state and federal courts across the country. Nearly all cases were dismissed, not by partisan actors, but by judges appointed by Republican and Democratic presidents alike. Courts have repeatedly found no credible evidence to support fraud claims, and in several cases, judges rebuked legal arguments as frivolous.
These rejections, however, didn’t just stop at the courthouse door. William Barr, Donald Trump’s own former attorney general and a loyal ally to the president, said the Department of Justice found no evidence of widespread fraud capable of changing the 2020 election outcomes. The nation’s top election security officials were also unmistakenly clear about their position. Leaders of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC), and the National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS) issued a joint statement declaring there was no evidence that any voting system deleted, changed, or lost a single vote, or was compromised in any way. CISA itself called the 2020 election “the most secure in American history.”
In short: there is no evidence to support the stolen election claims this president continues to push. The courts don’t support it; elections experts don’t support it; and many of those inside Trump’s own circle don’t support it.
Recent polling also tells a different story. Most Arizonans trust that local and state officials who administer elections can be relied upon to conduct them fairly, accurately and securely. Looking at the 2026 midterms, most Arizonans across the political spectrum say they will accept certified results in the state. That kind of cross-partisan consensus contradicts the narrative that widespread distrust of Arizona’s election system is justified. This trust in local election officials is not unique to Arizona. Nationally, about six in ten voters report having confidence in the officials who run elections in their communities. So why is Trump fixated on reopening six-year-old wounds?
Elected to Uphold Democracy, Choosing to Dismantle It
Over the last year and a half, Trump has issued a series of executive orders related to voting and elections. Ultimately, these executive orders are theatric maneuvers designed to create the illusion of absolute executive power, intimidate voters, and derail public trust in our elections. Although Trump’s executive orders have been repeatedly blocked by the courts, they reveal a coordinated attempt by the federal government to interfere in election administration and take control of voter rolls — something that should concern us all.
Unfortunately, Trump’s Arizona allies in power are willing to play along:
- Lawmakers have sent a proposal to the 2026 ballot that would derail Arizona’s vote-by-mail and early voting system if passed.
- Maricopa County Recorder Justin Heap has said he is “happy to comply” with federal requests for voter data, and correspondence between Heap and the DOJ indicated his support of an investigation into Maricopa County elections.
- Arizona State Senate President Warren Petersen handed the Department of Justice records related to the Cyber Ninjas audit, and then accused Attorney General Kris Mayes and Secretary of State Adrian Fontes of obstruction of justice because they asked questions about which records he supplied.
- Cochise County officials are again raising debunked claims about Arizona’s voting machines and asking for a federal investigation into the state’s election certification process.
Watching Arizona elected officials feeding Trump’s lies to gain power and influence is frustrating to say the least. But they don't answer to him – they answer to Arizona voters. This midterm election, we can protect our democracy by understanding their tactics, calling out disinformation when we see it, and encouraging our friends, family, and communities to fully participate in the 2026 elections as informed voters.
A Glossary for the Mis- and Disinformation Age
By having the language and literacy that is needed to address election mis- and disinformation, we will all be better equipped to fight it. Below are some common terms you'll see, both in the "Election Denier's Playbook," and beyond.
Misinformation: This happens when false information spreads WITHOUT anyone meaning to deceive others. But even without bad intent, it can still cause real harm by influencing how people think and act.
Disinformation: On the contrary, disinformation is the spreading of false information WITH the intent to mislead others.
Fake News: An honest definition would describe fake news as a type of disinformation that encompasses false or misleading news that is presented as legitimate news. However, President Trump and other election deniers often use the term “fake news” to describe unbiased, fact-based reporting by traditional media outlets when they are unhappy with the truth.
Conspiracy Theory: Conspiracy theories are interpretations of disputed events that undermine official explanations, records, or fact — often with little to no credible evidence to support the theory's claim.
Artificial Intelligence: Commonly referred to as AI, artificial intelligence is a computer system that is designed to perform a range of tasks, including potentially malicious acts like generating deep fakes or helping promote fake news.
Deep Fakes: A product of AI which replicates an individual’s likeness through video, image, or audio to spread disinformation or depict them doing something that is not real.
Media Literacy: A person’s ability to access, analyze, and evaluate types of media to gauge information’s credibility and intention.
Voter Fraud: Voter fraud refers to allegations of fraud or criminal behavior to unlawfully alter election results (e.g., voting without meeting the eligibility requirements of the state one lives in or voting using someone else’s identity).
Election Security: Refers to the protection of election systems, which includes both physical and digital infrastructures that help elections run smoothly.
Election Audit: An assessment tool to ensure voting systems function as they should and are in compliance with certain rules and regulations.
Election Recount: When votes are recounted in an election to ensure the initial results are correct.
Poll Watcher: Also referred to as poll observers or monitors, poll watchers are individuals who observe the steps in the election process, typically to ensure that election law is being followed. Poll watchers are not employed by or connected to county elections offices. Instead, they are often associated with civic groups, academic institutions, international organizations, or elected officials at other levels of government.
Poll Worker: Poll workers are county employees, typically temporary, who are formally tasked with running our elections. They are trained by local election officials and swear an oath to uphold election laws. They hold responsibilities like opening the polls on Election Day, assisting voters, and implementing election law and regulations.
Unpacking the Election Denier’s Playbook
This series will revisit Arizona’s turbulent history with election denialism to give advocates the tools to identify emerging threats — debunking the lies, exposing the bad actors who spread them, and condemning the real harm they caused to voters and our democratic institutions. Equally important, we’ll share the latest best practices for spotting and combatting misinformation when you see it circulating in your community, as well as other opportunities to get involved.
We, the people, hold the power and the responsibility to protect elections that are free, fair, and accessible to every eligible voter. In Arizona, our decentralized voting system has long served as a strong safeguard for elections. No system is perfect, but that doesn’t justify efforts to undermine it. That is why we must keep in mind what is at stake.
As the 2026 midterm election approaches, we all have a role to play in upholding the principles of our democracy.
Read Next: Part 2
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