Podcast Summary: Assembly Required with Stacey Abrams

Episode: “Stacey Abrams’ On The Ten Steps to Save Democracy”

Date: September 18, 2025
Host: Stacey Abrams
Guest: Ari Berman (National Voting Rights Correspondent, Mother Jones; Author, Project 2026)

Episode Overview

In this compelling episode, Stacey Abrams debuts her “10 Steps Campaign” for saving democracy, responding to what she sees as an accelerating march toward American authoritarianism. She unpacks the warning signs, highlights the coordinated attacks on voting rights and democratic systems, and offers a new action framework for citizens. Ari Berman joins to detail how the upcoming 2026 midterms are being systematically rigged, examining legal, legislative, and bureaucratic maneuvers that threaten the foundation of American self-government. Throughout, Abrams and Berman emphasize collective action and vigilance as democracy's antidote.

Main Discussion Points & Detailed Breakdown

1. The 10 Steps to Autocracy (and Why They Matter)

(00:00–12:00)

• Abrams sets the stage:
  • “I've been talking about the 10 steps to autocracy, a framework that lays out the warning signs for when a country is headed towards authoritarian rule.” (01:11)
  • Describes how autocracy hides “in plain sight,” embedded in education cuts, slashing social programs, the rise of pronatalism, Christian nationalism, and normalized political violence.
• Political violence as a warning sign:
  • “When murder becomes a proxy for debate, we fail ourselves and our compatriots. When murder becomes a call to action, we have lost our way.” (05:44)
• Abrams lays out the 10 Steps to Autocracy (summary of Kim Scheppele’s framework):
  1. Last real free election.
  2. Expansion/exceeding of executive authority.
  3. Weaken competing powers (Congress, courts).
  4. Break government so democracy seems worthless.
  5. Install loyalists in key positions.
  6. Attack/undermine media.
  7. Scapegoat vulnerable communities.
  8. Attack civil society groups.
  9. Normalize/incentivize violence.
  10. End democracy by formalizing authoritarian rule.

Memorable Quote:
“If there are 10 steps to steal our democracy, there are 10 steps to freedom and power, and I've been mulling over how to present them...” —Stacey Abrams (10:17)

2. Introducing the “10 Steps Campaign”

(11:30–12:00)

• Abrams unveils the “10 Steps Campaign”:
  • Action verbs inspired by activists and leaders: Commit, Share, Organize, Mobilize, Litigate, Disrupt, Deny, Engage, Elect, Demand.
  • The campaign’s goal: tangible paths for ordinary people to counter autocracy and rebuild democratic power.
  • “This is a moment that calls for faith, for intention, for urgency. I'm not waiting, and neither should you.” (11:55)

3. Ari Berman on Project 2026 and Election Rigging

(12:01–19:10)

• Why pay attention now?
  • Berman stresses that Trump and Republicans are working now to rig 2026 midterms, “going way beyond what any other president has done.”
  • Enumerates tactics: nationalizing voter suppression, gerrymandering, weaponizing DOJ, attacking political opponents.
  • “It’s extremely disturbing to see a president try to manipulate the outcome before a single vote is cast.” (13:42)
• Broad trend: The Republican Party as complicit and actively facilitating these efforts, not just Trump alone.

Notable Quote:
“We are not approaching authoritarianism. It is here, it is operational, and we are watching in real time as it unfolds.” —Stacey Abrams (14:32)

4. Judicial Attacks on Voting Rights

(16:03–21:20)

• Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act under threat:
  • The 8th Circuit ruling has barred private groups from enforcing Section 2; if upheld, this would gut the law.
  • “The Voting Rights Act would basically become a dead letter.” —Ari Berman (17:01)
  • Supreme Court and lower courts now aligned to further weaken protections against racial (and partisan) gerrymandering.
• The danger: without these federal protections, rapid disenfranchisement of communities of color and young voters.

Quote:
“Now you're basically saying if you draw a district that would remedy those centuries of discrimination, that in and of itself is discriminatory.” —Ari Berman (18:35)

5. The Ideological and Political Coup: Courts, Congress & Executive Coordination

(21:21–29:13)

• Overview of current Supreme Court:
  • Judges appointed by presidents who lost the popular vote, confirmed by minority-representing senators.
  • Chief Justice John Roberts’ decades-long project to weaken the Voting Rights Act.
• Abrams and Berman stress the convergence of ideological mission (minority rule) and political power — courts have become “proactive tools” for the executive.
• Parallels drawn to historical authoritarian regimes, warning that removing voting protections amid demographic change is about locking in power for a chosen few.

Quote:
“The Supreme Court is setting precedent for decades now, and they're rewriting the most important statutes in the history of the United States.” —Ari Berman (26:08)

6. The Bureaucratic & Executive Assault on Voting

(31:05–41:33)

• Executive actions:
  • Proof of citizenship requirements for voter registration; Berman details how these disproportionately disenfranchise women, young, and minority voters (especially via the SAVE Act) (32:35).
  • Restrictions and rollbacks in mail-in voting; huge export on disabled, elderly, rural, and urban voters (35:08).
  • Department of Homeland Security accessing immigration databases — resulting in false “findings” of noncitizen voting, used as propaganda (37:25).
• These administrative rules and politicized data actions are as dangerous as more dramatic interventions.

Quote:
“They want to freeze the electorate so that new people aren't able to register because they feel like new people, if they register, might not support Republican candidates.” —Ari Berman (33:39)

7. Gutting Government Function: Breaking Trust in Systems

(41:33–44:55)

• Dismantling CISA (Cybersecurity Infrastructure Security Agency):
  • Trump fired Chris Krebs after 2020 for affirming election integrity, then targeted his career and colleagues.
  • Destruction of government expertise and bulwarks is leaving elections open to sabotage, including foreign interference.

Quote:
“They've now dismantled pretty much all of the protections against election interference that exist at a time when the Trump administration is picking fights left and right…” —Ari Berman (43:24)

8. The “Normalization” of Anti-Democratic Tactics

(44:30–50:59)

• Why did/does the GOP go along?
  • Many agree with Trump’s ends, if not his style (“they may find some of the means distasteful, but agree with some of the end goals” —Berman, 45:03).
  • The “guardrails” (moderates, local officials) have been systematically replaced.
  • Abrams: we mistake self-preservation for courage—“Brian Kemp was not a hero. He simply did not commit treason because the law did not permit him to take the action that was requested.” (46:28)
• Core Point: The real target is not a party but democratic voice. DEI (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion) and similar legal frameworks are under attack as the last bulwarks enabling pluralistic, broad participation.

9. Predetermining & Discrediting Elections

(50:59–55:34)

• The “End Game” of Authoritarian Capture
  • Making elections meaningless: “It’s not about who wins. It’s about whether we actually have an ability… to have a free and fair election.” (49:30)
  • Comparisons to sham elections in Russia, Hungary, Turkey.
• Systematic voter purges: N. Carolina case, Georgia’s 471,000-voter purge, attempts to disenfranchise 100,000 voters in one state race.
• DOJ weaponized at the state level as “foot soldiers in the president’s voter suppression crusade.” (57:13)

10. Moving Forward: Action, Hope, and the 10 Steps

(59:48–64:34)

• What can people do?
  1. Understand this as a democracy (not partisan) issue.
  2. Rebuild and innovate new coalitions (as in 2020).
  3. Mass mobilization, protest, and civil society activation.
  4. Stay alert for and resist administrative/quiet forms of disenfranchisement.
  5. Act now—not just before elections.
• Abrams: Highlights her 10 Steps Campaign as a roadmap and underscores the importance of bureaucratic vigilance: “We have to stop looking for big dramatic moments and start watching the bureaucratic efforts.” (63:10)
• Takeaway: Democracy must be the overriding issue that unites Americans across divides.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the cautionary parallels:
  • “We know exactly what they are recreating... I'm deeply afraid that we're actually going back to 1850, not 1950.” —Stacey Abrams (27:57)
• On media framing:
  • “This is all being described by so many people, particularly in the media, as just the usual kind of power politics...as you've rightly pointed out, this is all part of a path towards authoritarianism.” —Ari Berman (48:52)
• On the heart of the anti-democratic project:
  • “It is the ability to have a voice in how your society operates. And there is a concentrated, concerted, and right now, extraordinarily effective attempt to diminish who has a voice in how our country works and who counts in the society.” —Stacey Abrams (47:06)
• On action:
  • “You can't just suddenly... people in October 2026 are like, what can I do? It's hard to do things a month before the election. It's a lot easier to do them now.” —Ari Berman (61:21)

Timestamps for Major Segments

• 00:00–12:00: Abrams’ introduction, laying out the stakes and previewing the 10 Steps Campaign
• 12:01–19:10: Ari Berman on Project 2026 and why the 2026 midterms are under threat
• 19:10–21:21: Judicial threats to Voting Rights Act
• 21:21–29:13: Why the courts matter & the merging of ideological and political projects
• 31:05–41:33: The direct, bureaucratic attacks on voting processes and government institutions
• 41:33–50:59: Systemic enablers, normalization, and party complicity
• 50:59–62:54: Predetermined elections and the need for action before it’s too late
• 62:54–64:34: Abrams on the 10 Steps Campaign, unity across party lines, and democracy as the prime issue

Final Calls to Action

• Visit 10StepsCampaign.org to learn more about the 10 Steps Campaign.
• Follow Fair Count (faircount.org) for census engagement.
• Visit Fair Fight Action for ways to fight voter suppression.
• Pick one “step to freedom and power” and make it your mission.
• Reach out and share these ideas with others.
• Subscribe, rate, and leave feedback for the show.

Summary Takeaway

This episode is a full-throated warning and rallying cry: democracy’s undoing is a slow, systematic, administrative process — and the forces of autocracy are further along than most Americans realize. But, as Abrams insists, organized, vigilant, collective action can stop and reverse these trends. The “10 Steps Campaign” is both a roadmap and a call to agency for everyone who believes democracy is not yet lost.