The Most Dangerous Election Rigging Happens in Your Head-And. You. Can. Shut. It. Down.

The Most Dangerous Election Rigging Happens in Your Head-And. You. Can. Shut. It. Down.

The Jack Hopkins Now Newsletter #786: Thursday, February 19th, 2026

Let’s talk straight.

The only thing more powerful than interference is intimidation.

And intimidation…only works if you accept it.

Because here’s the dirty secret:

You can “lose” an election before a single ballot is cast…not because someone hacked a machine, but because fear hacked you.

If someone whispers, “They’re going to rig it,” and you throw your hands up…congratulations. You just did their job for them. You gave them the only thing they truly need: your resignation.

Fear is pre-surrender.

I refuse it. Plain and simple.

You should, too.

Now…let’s be adults about it. Yes, bad actors try things. Yes, people look for angles. Yes, there are efforts to suppress…confuse…slow…challenge…intimidate…exhaust. That’s real.

But…the jump from “people will try” to “it’s hopeless” is the psychological trap.

That trap is the point.

Because if you believe it’s over…you stop showing up. If you stop showing up…they don’t have to interfere at all. They just have to keep you anxious…cynical…and sitting on your couch like a spectator to your own country.

That’s not realism.

That’s defeatism…dressed up as sophistication.

This country has survived a civil war. Assassinations. Watergate. Foreign meddling. Violent unrest. Contested results.

We are still here.

Not because we were protected from chaos…because we didn’t bow to it.

So…don’t tell me democracy collapses because someone makes noise about interference.

Not if citizens flood the zone with participation.

Not if turnout overwhelms attempts at manipulation.

Not if legal challenges are met instantly…by organized teams who anticipated the tricks and prepared receipts.

Not if poll workers and observers are trained and present.

Not if journalists and watchdogs are supported and relentless.

Not if millions of people make it clear…quietly…steadily…unmistakably…we are watching.

Because sunlight is a solvent. And the more eyes on the process, the harder it is to pull stunts in the dark.

Fear wants you small.

Democracy requires you loud.

Not hysterical. Not chaotic. Not consumable outrage that burns for 48 hours and evaporates.

Just present.

Steady.

Involved.

Vote like it matters.

Volunteer like it matters.

Pay attention like it matters.

Because it does.

And…listen…this is critical:

The people who want you afraid don’t actually need to change votes if they can change behavior.

If they can convince enough people not to vote, not to volunteer, not to trust, not to engage… they win without ever touching a ballot box.

Don’t give them that leverage.

Do not hand them the steering wheel of your nervous system.

The antidote to fear is action. Not “hope” as a mood…action as a decision.

Make calls. Knock doors. Drive people to polls. Support legal funds. Become a poll worker. Report disinformation. Back local candidates. Talk to your neighbors like a human being instead of a screen-addled pundit.

And don’t do it once.

Do it repeatedly.

Because action compounds. Participation compounds. Courage is contagious…and so is apathy.

Pick which one you’re spreading.

Action is undefeated when citizens commit to it.

So commit.

Not because you’re naive.

Because you’re done being manipulated.

Because you’re done being shrunk.

Because you know the oldest trick in the authoritarian playbook is convincing free people to act like prisoners.

And you’re not a prisoner.

Too early to be talking about this? You know better than that.

We have work to do.

#HoldFast

Back soon.

-Jack

Jack Hopkins

P.S. The fastest way to lose your country isn’t through a stolen ballot. It’s through a stolen backbone. Refuse to let fear make your decisions. Show up. Stay steady. And remember…intimidation only works on people who step back. We don’t step back.