1. United States
2. N.Y.
3. Letter

I am writing to warn of an extraordinary and accelerating threat to American democracy that now demands immediate congressional action. Last week, the FBI executed a search warrant in Fulton County, Georgia, seeking access to 2020 election ballots, tabulator tapes, digital election data, and voter rolls. Federal agents seizing election materials from a local election authority—years after the election in question—is without modern precedent. Legal experts have described this action as a serious escalation in the abuse of federal power and a direct break from long-standing democratic norms. This was not routine oversight. It was the use of federal law enforcement to intrude upon state-run elections at the direction of a president who lost that election and has never accepted its outcome. The intimidation of election officials is no longer rhetorical. It is operational. At the same time, President Trump has now openly called for nationalizing elections, urging Republicans to “take over” voting systems in multiple states. He has advocated transferring control of election administration away from states and local officials and into partisan hands—explicitly framing elections as something his party should seize and control. These statements are not abstract. They follow concrete actions: federal intervention in election records, pressure on election administrators, and a broader effort to centralize control over voting itself. Taken together, they represent a direct threat to free and fair elections in the United States. This is how democracies collapse—not all at once, but through normalization of intimidation, erosion of local control, and the politicization of election administration. If Congress does not act now, an authoritarian president—enabled by an unaccountable Supreme Court—will continue consolidating power. The result will be manipulated elections, permanent minority rule, and ultimately a third term in defiance of democratic norms. At that point, the United States will no longer be a functioning democracy. The upcoming midterm elections may be our last meaningful opportunity to stop this trajectory. Congress must act immediately to safeguard elections by: • Prohibiting federal seizure or partisan interference in election infrastructure • Protecting state and local election officials from intimidation and retaliation • Blocking any effort to nationalize or centralize elections for partisan control • Enforcing real consequences for officials who undermine democratic processes Silence and delay are no longer neutral choices. The line has already been crossed. History will judge whether Congress defended democracy when it mattered—or allowed it to be dismantled through inaction.