The Trump voting idea Democrats should back

Plus, the lawyers pushing back on the president's threats to their profession |

Thursday, July 23, 2026 Ryan Teague Beckwith: Faster results Since losing the 2020 election, President Donald Trump has put forward a lot of ideas to change how America votes. Some, like hand-counting all ballots, are nonstarters. Others, like restricting mail-in voting, have proven a tough sell in states where it’s popular, including Republican-leaning ones. And a handful have become mainstream Republican positions, including imposing stricter voter ID and requiring proof of citizenship to register to vote. Democrats have generally opposed those proposals, arguing that they would do more to make voting harder than to prevent the relatively rare cases of election fraud. But one Trump proposal deserves a second look: speeding up election results. Election results often come in slowly because officials are verifying signatures on mail-in ballots, allowing more time for ones sent by Election Day to arrive and giving voters whose ballots were initially rejected opportunities to fix the issue and have them counted. Those are important safeguards for both access and accuracy. But there are other ways to get faster results that don’t have those trade-offs. Dismissing the goal of faster results carries its own risks. Polls show overwhelming support for faster election night results among both Democrats and Republicans. Research indicates that unexpectedly slow vote counts can undermine trust in the results. And there are ways to speed up results considerably without making it harder for people to cast their ballots and get them counted. Read Ryan Teague Beckwith’s analysis here.   TODAY’S QUESTION Have you changed your eating habits due to the outbreak? Health officials continue to investigate a multistate outbreak of cyclospora that has sickened thousands. After Taylor Farms voluntarily recalled lettuce sold in 27 states, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced that a sample of the company’s lettuce tested positive for the parasite, but later said those results were a “false positive.” VOTE HERE TRUMP’S WEEK IN REVIEW Here are some more highlights of the president’s actions over the past seven days: Declared that data centers are “one of the biggest driving forces” for future jobs, even as polls show they have become unpopular Announced that a Boeing luxury jet donated by Qatar would need to be taken out of service to add more defensive capabilities Failed to persuade key Senate Republicans to back a bill to restrict voting rights after a primetime address on the subject Claimed that soldiers who had died in the war with Iran had “said very strongly, ‘We can’t let, we cannot let Iran have a nuclear weapon.’”   THE CHALLENGERS The news can feel overwhelming. But each week, we pause to highlight a person, organization or movement sticking up for their principles. This week’s challenger is the American Bar Association.  The nation’s largest voluntary organization of lawyers continues to fight the Trump administration’s pressure campaign against major law firms. Beginning in March 2025, Trump signed a series of executive orders and presidential memorandums restricting the security clearances and federal access of firms that had represented clients or causes he opposed. The ABA sued, arguing that the measures chilled lawyers’ willingness to take politically sensitive cases and threatened the independence of the legal profession. As part of the case, it sought documents about agreements under which some firms had the restrictions lifted after pledging millions of dollars in pro bono work on administration-backed causes. The Justice Department responded by issuing subpoenas and deposition demands to many of the firms the administration cut deals with. But the move could backfire: Rather than undermining the ABA’s case, it may reveal new details about the deals struck between the administration and firms that chose to settle. On Tuesdays, you can expect to receive a special edition of the Project 47 newsletter dedicated to covering the biggest issues shaping key races in the midterm elections. If you would prefer to opt out of the special midterms edition of the newsletter, click here and you will automatically be removed. NUMBER OF THE WEEK $960 For a candidate who promised to lower prices on his first day in office, Trump has found one way after another to raise them since becoming president again. If the costs are evenly divided, the war with Iran has cost Americans around $554 more for gasoline (and counting) and over $1,000 when you add up all the costs. The president’s signature legislative accomplishment, the One Big Beautiful Bill, didn’t renew enhanced tax credits for Obamacare and as a result, enrollees’ premiums rose 58% on average (and are expected to rise again this year). The bill also cut food stamp benefits for millions of Americans. And then there are the tariffs which could add an extra $960 per household, according to the Tax Policy Center. After the Supreme Court struck down Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs, the president enacted temporary around-the-globe duties of 10% that expire Friday. He could let them end thereby giving some relief to financially strapped consumers, but all signs point to more tariffs. The midterms are just over 100 days away and the economy and high prices remain the No. 1 issue for voters. — Stephanie Ruhle, host of “Money, Power, Politics with Stephanie Ruhle”  TOP STORIES Lt. Col. Rachel E. VanLandingham (ret.) Trump’s attacks on Iran’s civilian infrastructure cross a dangerous line Austin Sarat Why America’s death rows are slowly emptying Carole House Congress is getting its bill to rein in crypto dangerously wrong Jarvis DeBerry Why the GOP outrage about Canada’s wildfires is likely to blow up in their faces  Laura Barrón-López and David Rohde ‘Very clearly trying to lay the groundwork’: Officials fear Trump’s potential election agenda MORE FROM MS NOW This week on “Clock It,” Symone Sanders Townsend and Eugene Daniels are joined by actress and singer Jenifer Lewis to discuss her political awakening during the AIDS epidemic, her unfiltered thoughts about the Trump administration, and how we must be unafraid in our political fight. Listen now and subscribe to MS NOW Premium on Apple Podcasts for ad-free listening and bonus content. 229 West 43rd St. New York, NY 10036 UNSUBSCRIBE | PRIVACY | CONTACT | VIEW IN BROWSER UNSUBSCRIBE | PRIVACY | CONTACT | VIEW IN BROWSER