Podcast
Defending Democracy with Marc Elias
Hosted by Democracy Docket · EN
Every week, election lawyer Marc Elias interviews lawmakers, policy leaders and changemakers about the problems facing our democracy and how we fix them.
78episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
Trump Is Letting Todd Blanche Crash and Burn
4d ago00:31:00Tap to summarizeTodd Blanche went from well-respected Wall Street lawyer to Trump crony. And now, he’s about to lose his dream job as attorney general. Marc Elias, founder of Democracy Docket, explains what makes Blanche so dangerous, how he is jeopardizing his Senate confirmation to protect Trump’s slush fund, and why we can’t let the legacy media shift the Overton window on Trump’s nominees.
Transcribe →If We Want Democracy to Survive, We Have to Understand This Distinction
6d ago00:32:02Tap to summarizeIf we want democracy to survive, here’s what we need to understand: Donald Trump is actually acting normal. Marc Elias, founder of Democracy Docket, explains the important distinction between abnormal and immoral, why the courts should do away with the presumption of regularity, and what Democrats need to do to create a better, moral “new normal.”
Transcribe →Election Watch: Your Vote is Trump's Target
1w ago00:31:15Tap to summarizeDemocracy Docket founder Marc Elias introduces "Election Watch: Countdown to the 2026 Midterms," a new weekly series breaking down what's really at stake ahead of November. In Episode 1, Marc lays out Trump's three-part strategy to subvert the election: suppressing Democratic votes, manipulating voter data to disqualify voters and using false fraud claims to challenge results.
Transcribe →New Jersey Did Not Commit Voter Fraud
2w ago00:28:32Tap to summarizeEarlier this year, Texas quietly admitted to the federal government that non-citizens had been mistakenly registered to vote there due to clerical errors, the same kind of mistake now fueling outrage over New Jersey. Democracy Docket founder Marc Elias breaks down what actually happened in both states, why neither is proof of the voter fraud conspiracy Republicans are selling, and why the SAVE Act and voter ID laws wouldn't have stopped either error.
Transcribe →The Pro-Democracy Fight Will Be Won in Inches
2w ago00:26:45Tap to summarizeDemocracy Docket founder Marc Elias breaks down why elections are a game of inches, and why the GOP's real 2026 strategy is making it harder to vote and easier to cheat. He walks through the RNC's own lawsuit admitting late mail ballots favor Democrats, the Supreme Court's 5-4 ruling against them, and another win in Kansas protecting mail voters. We can't get complacent. Only 19 states protect these ballots, and a lot is on the line before November.Join our subreddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/DemocracyDocket/
Transcribe →Why Republicans' "Common Sense" Voter ID Law Actually Makes No Sense at All
2w ago00:23:49Tap to summarizeHomeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin just admitted it: Real ID doesn't prove citizenship. In this video, Democracy Docket founder Marc Elias breaks down the 15-word slip that exposes the real goal of Trump's voter ID push and why only two documents actually prove citizenship — documents that many Americans don't have. It's a policy that hits Black voters and married women hardest, and the Election Integrity Network's own handbook shows it's by design.
Transcribe →Trump’s Speech Had No Proof. The Ending is a Massive Warning
3w ago00:23:38Tap to summarizeTrump gave a speech Thursday night packed with recycled 2020 grievances and zero new evidence. But buried at the end was a directive every voter should be paying attention to before 2026. Democracy Docket founder Marc Elias breaks down what Trump actually said, why his claims about Chinese hacking, "vulnerable" voting machines and noncitizen voting don't hold up, and what he's really setting up: a partisan purge of voter rolls before the midterms.
Transcribe →The Most Consequential Supreme Court Term in a Generation | Expert Panel
3w ago00:41:47Tap to summarizeThe Supreme Court just closed out its most consequential term in a generation — gutting the Voting Rights Act, ending 90 years of independent agency precedent and testing the limits of presidential power.Democracy Docket founder Marc Elias hosted a panel of legal experts to break down the key decisions shaping democracy: Janai Nelson, president and director-counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, who argued Louisiana v. Callais before the Supreme Court; Joyce Vance, former U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Alabama; and Cody Wofsy, deputy director of the ACLU's Immigrants' Rights Project, who was lead attorney in the lower courts on Trump v. Barbara and part of the team that defended it before the Supreme Court.
Transcribe →Trump Just Disabled a Key Federal Election Agency Months Before Midterms
3w ago00:26:15Tap to summarizeDemocracy Docket founder Marc Elias breaks down Trump's firing of the remaining commissioners at the Election Assistance Commission, the federal agency that certifies voting equipment, administers a national backup voter registration form and provides expertise and training to state election officials. It's now legally paralyzed months before the 2026 midterms. Marc argues Trump likely has two main motives: sidelining nonpartisan election expertise (as he's done with vaccines, food safety and the military) and deliberately degrading state election administration to manufacture a post-election narrative. He also warns that without commissioners, the White House may try to pressure EAC staff directly.
Transcribe →What Democrats Keep Getting Wrong | Brian Tyler Cohen
4w ago00:33:43Tap to summarizeMarc Elias sits down with Brian Tyler Cohen to discuss his new book, "The Day After: How to Wield Power in a Post-Trump World," which makes the case that Democrats need to fight harder and prioritize outcomes over institutional deference. They break down the Supreme Court's latest term and the case for court reform, but also dig into the bigger argument: that clinging to norms like the filibuster risks squandering a rare chance to win back disillusioned voters. Brian lays out what he believes Democrats need to be ready to act on from day one, including voting rights reform and election integrity They also break down how independent media is reshaping political strategy heading into the midterms.
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