In late July 2026, senior Democrats in the US Senate, including Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and senators Alex Padilla, Adam Schiff, Mark Warner, Elissa Slotkin, and Raphael Warnock, convened in Washington DC to simulate potential threats to the upcoming November midterm elections.

Legal experts presented scenarios such as the spread of AI-generated deepfake videos falsely alleging widespread election fraud weeks before voting begins. Although forensic experts in the exercises quickly discredited the videos as synthetic, rightwing media and the US president were depicted as amplifying these false claims.

Justin Vail, head of the DC office of the non-partisan group Protect Democracy, emphasized that the goal was not to predict exact outcomes but to identify vulnerabilities and improve coordination and preparedness. Skye Perryman, CEO of Democracy Forward, expressed confidence in the resilience of US democracy, citing the legal system and the decentralized nature of American elections as safeguards against political interference, including from the president.

Perryman stated, “The president can try to imagine whatever he may wish to imagine. He can’t imagine a new constitution, and the constitution, frankly, is quite clear in no uncertain terms; there’s not a role for the president in election administration in this country.”

Concerns remain high due to former President Donald Trump’s persistent false claims about the 2020 election being stolen and his push for federal oversight of elections. Senator Jon Ossoff of Georgia, representing a key swing state, described Trump’s rhetoric as signaling an intent to attack elections and voting rights, similar to efforts to overturn the 2020 results.

The simulations also considered responses to more severe disruptions, such as armed vigilantes at ballot drop boxes—a situation that occurred in Arizona during the 2022 midterms. Compared to these scenarios, Federal Communications Commission enforcement actions against news outlets covering deepfakes were seen as relatively mild.

Sources

Guardian US: Top Democrats simulate election threats as Trump continues assault on voting