Jack is correct. The warning from Maricopa County is structural, not partisan.
File the date: June 2026. A private organization, founded by an official currently serving in the White House, is accused in a court filing of instructing election administrators to disregard the legal guidance of the elected county attorney. The official raising this alarm endorsed the president.
Note which detail the article handles carefully: the question of legality is set aside. The filing alleges that America First Legal is acting ultra vires — beyond its lawful authority. But the deeper issue is not legal. It is architectural.
Democratic institutions are not self-executing. They depend on something that predates their formal structures: the shared understanding that certain functions belong to the public and not to private actors. Election administration has historically occupied a particular position in that understanding. It is the one function that all other democratic functions depend upon. When it is contested — not in courts after elections, but inside the offices that run them before elections — something categorically different is underway.
Timothy Snyder has written that the precondition of authoritarianism is not force. It is the prior collapse of the assumption that public institutions are public. Once that assumption is gone, force is rarely necessary. The institutions do the work themselves, because they are no longer recognizably independent.
What is being alleged in Arizona is an early move in that direction. Whether it succeeds is less important than whether it is recognized for what it is.
Jack is correct that most Americans are not paying attention. The harder question — the one the article gestures at but does not answer — is whether attention, at this stage, is sufficient. That question is open. It should not be left open much longer.
Jane.. "Structural, not partisan"...exactly. And the Snyder point cuts deep: once we stop assuming public institutions are public...the rest follows on its own.
Your closing question...whether attention is sufficient at this stage...is the one keeping me up at night. Attention is necessary...but NOT sufficient.
It has to convert into something. That's a piece I owe my readers!
Thankfully this person had the guts to raise a red flag re what Millet is trying to do. It is truly sounding the alarm! We must all be vigilant and watch how our counties are handling the elections. Just more to be aware of. Reminds me of how they are trying to sneak AI centers into our back yards and also get tax breaks so our power and water bills explode.
Whether it's election offices or data centers,...the pattern is the same: decisions that reshape our communities getting made BEFORE most of us even know there's a decision HAPPENING.
By the time the public notices...the deal is DONE.
Vigilance at the county level is exactly right. That's where this fight actually lives...not in Washington...but..in board meetings and county offices most people never attend.
They will be pulling out all the stops...and attempting things many of us have not yet imagined. We have our work cut out for us, without question. Rest assured, I'll be right here...working my ass off...to assist in every way that I can.
Fuck can we just have one normal week without the Orange Shitstain fucking our country sideways!!?!! Trying to stay in power and making sure our voices are silenced.. The structural not partisan.. brilliant piece my friend.. Fuck Jack.. what’s next and how do we fight?? Cause I’m not giving up I’m just pissed off..😡
Dear Morgan, No, we will not have another normal week until this entire regime is gone, and for some time after that. The entire world thinks we are a nation of idiots. Just keep looking for a slot into which you can slip that wrench!👹-stay fierce #HOLDFAST
This is indeed red alarms. It is also heartening to see a republican have standards and say not today. It is extremely concerning for her. She stood up against the regime. Yes, this isn't partisan, it is structural. it may be the first volley, but certainly not the last by Miller and the mob. Thanks for calling this out, Jack!
Sounds like Trump & CO’s accusations of rigged elections is more projection. That pattern has happened so often, we would be justified in assuming it to be true until proven otherwise. Rather than a presumption of regularity, this administration has earned a presumption of irregularity.
Jack, I doubt I would’ve ever known about this if I hadn’t subscribed to your newsletter.. at least not soon enough.. and I probably wouldn’t have interpreted it properly.. so thank you.
I’m grateful that Rachel Mitchell, especially being a Republican, had the courage to call this out. I just hope it makes a difference.
I ask this question often but I honestly don’t know if there’s anything that I personally can do. Is there? Can we stop this? I’ve never been good at feeling helpless and lately, I just do.
When I see you say this is “certainly reason for concern” it translates in my head as freaking terrifying and it did even before I saw that reply.
What I find so concerning is that it just seems like they’re miles ahead of us and I wonder how we catch up. Time is running out fast and I know there’s nothing they won’t do.
Jeeeez, Jack. This is like playing whack-a-mole. Just when you think you’ve gotten rid of one evil scheme another pops up. These mofo’s in the regime truly have diabolical imaginations…. along with deep pockets. Holy sh*t.
I don’t personally know our county officials but - I know people that probably do. Time to make some calls, send some emails to at least let them know we’re paying attention….
I had not heard about this and it needs to spread far and wide. Thanks for your work and vigilance!
It seems as if there is a ton of ‘dark money’ funding it. I wonder how much, if any, remuneration Steven Miller (Co-Founder) and Gene Hamilton (Pres & Co-Founder) receive. Both are and have been very involved with the 45th and 47th presidential administration.
So many people said we were overreacting about them trying to take over the elections and, yet, here we are. Of course they look at Arizona first as a "test market". There are tons of Latinos who the cult already suspects of being illegal. They have already built in conspiracy theories about the elections there. Arizona has a strong mail-in ballot system that works well but makes MAGA spout more lies. Arizona is usually a strong Republican voting state even though in recent years it has changed focus somewhat. If the administration can take over voting there, they are emboldened to take over more and, sadly, some states seem very willing to hand it over.
We ABSOLUTELY ARE NOT going to allow these motherfuckers to steal the midterms!
TimE...heavy on the MOTHERFUCKERS! That's EXACTLY right.
That...is the attitude. Thank you for having it...and bringing it here!
-Jack
You are welcome, my friend. I am so sick and tired of this shit! I could pinch all their heads off!
Roger that, TimE. EXACTLY.
-Jack
Jack is correct. The warning from Maricopa County is structural, not partisan.
File the date: June 2026. A private organization, founded by an official currently serving in the White House, is accused in a court filing of instructing election administrators to disregard the legal guidance of the elected county attorney. The official raising this alarm endorsed the president.
Note which detail the article handles carefully: the question of legality is set aside. The filing alleges that America First Legal is acting ultra vires — beyond its lawful authority. But the deeper issue is not legal. It is architectural.
Democratic institutions are not self-executing. They depend on something that predates their formal structures: the shared understanding that certain functions belong to the public and not to private actors. Election administration has historically occupied a particular position in that understanding. It is the one function that all other democratic functions depend upon. When it is contested — not in courts after elections, but inside the offices that run them before elections — something categorically different is underway.
Timothy Snyder has written that the precondition of authoritarianism is not force. It is the prior collapse of the assumption that public institutions are public. Once that assumption is gone, force is rarely necessary. The institutions do the work themselves, because they are no longer recognizably independent.
What is being alleged in Arizona is an early move in that direction. Whether it succeeds is less important than whether it is recognized for what it is.
Jack is correct that most Americans are not paying attention. The harder question — the one the article gestures at but does not answer — is whether attention, at this stage, is sufficient. That question is open. It should not be left open much longer.
Jane.. "Structural, not partisan"...exactly. And the Snyder point cuts deep: once we stop assuming public institutions are public...the rest follows on its own.
Your closing question...whether attention is sufficient at this stage...is the one keeping me up at night. Attention is necessary...but NOT sufficient.
It has to convert into something. That's a piece I owe my readers!
Thank you for this.
-Jack
Paying attention to Maricopa County.
Waiting for your next piece about it.
Not anxious, just attentive waiting.
Thankfully this person had the guts to raise a red flag re what Millet is trying to do. It is truly sounding the alarm! We must all be vigilant and watch how our counties are handling the elections. Just more to be aware of. Reminds me of how they are trying to sneak AI centers into our back yards and also get tax breaks so our power and water bills explode.
#HOLDFAST
Teri
Teri...you've connected dots that matter.
Whether it's election offices or data centers,...the pattern is the same: decisions that reshape our communities getting made BEFORE most of us even know there's a decision HAPPENING.
By the time the public notices...the deal is DONE.
Vigilance at the county level is exactly right. That's where this fight actually lives...not in Washington...but..in board meetings and county offices most people never attend.
Thank you for watching...and for being here!
#HOLDFAST
-Jack
JFC.. thank God I have you and everyone here Jack!! Because this is truly frightening is right.. this is a fucking nightmare
Morgan...I won't disagree.
They will be pulling out all the stops...and attempting things many of us have not yet imagined. We have our work cut out for us, without question. Rest assured, I'll be right here...working my ass off...to assist in every way that I can.
-Jack
Truly frightening!
David...a real cause for concern...without question.
-Jack
Can’t the Arizona AG file a lawsuit. States administer their elections.
Thank you, Jack. I AM terrified. But, Rachel Mitchell might just have given us hope. #holdingfast
Roberta...you're most welcome.
That's the right attitude. There's no penalty for noticing the fear; just acknowledge it...and keep taking meaningful ACTION. That's the key!
#KeepHoldingFast
-Jack
Emails sent!
SUPERB...BG.
-Jack
Fuck can we just have one normal week without the Orange Shitstain fucking our country sideways!!?!! Trying to stay in power and making sure our voices are silenced.. The structural not partisan.. brilliant piece my friend.. Fuck Jack.. what’s next and how do we fight?? Cause I’m not giving up I’m just pissed off..😡
#HOLDFAST
Dear Morgan, No, we will not have another normal week until this entire regime is gone, and for some time after that. The entire world thinks we are a nation of idiots. Just keep looking for a slot into which you can slip that wrench!👹-stay fierce #HOLDFAST
Thanks Rachel.. every damn day is WTF now?!??
This is indeed red alarms. It is also heartening to see a republican have standards and say not today. It is extremely concerning for her. She stood up against the regime. Yes, this isn't partisan, it is structural. it may be the first volley, but certainly not the last by Miller and the mob. Thanks for calling this out, Jack!
#HoldFast
Sounds like Trump & CO’s accusations of rigged elections is more projection. That pattern has happened so often, we would be justified in assuming it to be true until proven otherwise. Rather than a presumption of regularity, this administration has earned a presumption of irregularity.
Jack, I doubt I would’ve ever known about this if I hadn’t subscribed to your newsletter.. at least not soon enough.. and I probably wouldn’t have interpreted it properly.. so thank you.
I’m grateful that Rachel Mitchell, especially being a Republican, had the courage to call this out. I just hope it makes a difference.
I ask this question often but I honestly don’t know if there’s anything that I personally can do. Is there? Can we stop this? I’ve never been good at feeling helpless and lately, I just do.
When I see you say this is “certainly reason for concern” it translates in my head as freaking terrifying and it did even before I saw that reply.
What I find so concerning is that it just seems like they’re miles ahead of us and I wonder how we catch up. Time is running out fast and I know there’s nothing they won’t do.
#Holdfast (trying)
~Susan
Jeeeez, Jack. This is like playing whack-a-mole. Just when you think you’ve gotten rid of one evil scheme another pops up. These mofo’s in the regime truly have diabolical imaginations…. along with deep pockets. Holy sh*t.
I don’t personally know our county officials but - I know people that probably do. Time to make some calls, send some emails to at least let them know we’re paying attention….
I had not heard about this and it needs to spread far and wide. Thanks for your work and vigilance!
I emailed Marc Elias’ law firm regarding this. Thank you Jack.
We need recounts of the 2024 election in strategic states NOW!
Thank you, Jack. To your knowledge, has any one or any group begun estimating the cost of the 21st century Nuremberg trials?
I looked up America First Legal, first on Wiki and then on:
https://factually.co/fact-checks/politics/financial-support-america-first-organizations-donors-e01b9f
It seems as if there is a ton of ‘dark money’ funding it. I wonder how much, if any, remuneration Steven Miller (Co-Founder) and Gene Hamilton (Pres & Co-Founder) receive. Both are and have been very involved with the 45th and 47th presidential administration.
So many people said we were overreacting about them trying to take over the elections and, yet, here we are. Of course they look at Arizona first as a "test market". There are tons of Latinos who the cult already suspects of being illegal. They have already built in conspiracy theories about the elections there. Arizona has a strong mail-in ballot system that works well but makes MAGA spout more lies. Arizona is usually a strong Republican voting state even though in recent years it has changed focus somewhat. If the administration can take over voting there, they are emboldened to take over more and, sadly, some states seem very willing to hand it over.