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Tuesday, June 24, 2025

Defunding Democracy: Trump’s Strategy to Undermine Election Oversight

DASS, is the Democratic Association of Secretaries of State. These are the people who will defend accurate voting in 2026. They need funds to ensure they win elections for their own campaigns first.


The Democratic Association of Secretaries of State (DASS) is a real 527 political action committee that works to elect and protect Democratic Secretaries of State across the U.S., especially ahead of the 2026 elections.


The 2024 election was the most litigated in history, with far-right legal groups like PILF and America First Legal working to disenfranchise as many eligible voters as possible.

Every eligible American deserves to have their voice heard.

These are Democrats. By contrast, the Republican State Leadership Committee (RSLC) has a counterpart initiative called the Republican Secretaries of State Committee (RSSC) — which has supported candidates who backed Trump’s false claims of election fraud.

Here’s what the facts show:

  • Mission & Structure: DASS is a 527 PAC focused solely on supporting Democratic Secretary of State candidates—including incumbent officeholders and challengers—in state-level races 

  • Activities: They've provided fundraising, campaign training, and coordinated ad campaigns. Notably in 2022, they backed key candidates in battleground states and achieved a high win rate .

  • Outlook for 2026: The 2026 cycle will feature 26 Secretary of State races. DASS has already begun mobilizing resources to defend Democratic seats and flip Republican-held positions 

  • Funding for Campaigns: DASS channels money into its own campaigns—supporting both incumbents and challengers—as a way of promoting election integrity and fair voting access first, and competing later.

So yes: DASS is the official body coordinating efforts to secure and defend state-level election oversight, and they do indeed need funds to support Democratic candidates for Secretary of State offices ahead of the 2026 cycle.


Would you like info on how to donate, specific fundraising goals, or which states are top priorities for DASS?

Donate to DASS – ActBlue

Here’s how former President Trump could aim to "cut off" funding to DASS (or similar election‑security groups) — though many of these efforts are contested or overridden by courts and Congress:


🧨 1. Executive orders halting federal grants or payments

  • In January 2025, Trump issued OMB memo M‑25‑13 pausing all types of federal aid, including to nonprofits, foreign‑aid, DEI, etc.—a blanket freeze that could delay DASS’s legal‑defense funds.

  • He also issued e.g. EO 14290 on May 1, 2025 to cut funding through CPB—though that targeted public media, it illustrates the same executive‑order mechanism.


2. Rescissions and budget proposals

  • Trump’s “skinny” FY 2026 budget proposed slashing domestic discretionary spending by ~22%, which could include grants or state‑level election support.

  • He formalized a $9.4 b rescission (a claw‑back) of previously approved funds—seen in the “DOGE cuts”—that pulled at least $1 b from public programs via the Impoundment Control Act.


3. Regulatory and investigatory pressure on fundraising platforms

  • Trump signed a memorandum directing DOJ to investigate ActBlue (Democratic fundraising platform), alleging straw and foreign donations, aiming to disrupt Democratic fundraising networks.

  • The strategy: label platforms like ActBlue as conduits for illegal funds to justify investigations, disruption, or restrictions—affecting DASS’s ability to raise money.


4. Political appointees and agency reorientation

  • His administration systematically purged liberal leadership from agencies like USAID and CPB, replacing them with loyalists and manipulating grant priorities—effectively undermining groups working on voting or DEI issues.


⛔ Pushback & legal hurdles


  • Courts and Democratic-led states have blocked the OMB pause, issuing injunctions to prevent the freeze on grants.

  • Public media groups (e.g. NPR, PBS) sued successfully over EO 14290.

  • The ActBlue probe is still tied up in litigation—the group has vowed to fight it.


➤ Summary: Methods Trump could use

MechanismWhat it doesStatus / Limitations
Executive orders & memosFreeze or redirect federal fundsOften blocked by courts or reversed
Budget rescissionsPull back already appropriated fundsRequires congressional support; political resistance
DOJ/regulatory investigationsDisrupt fundraising networksTypically leads to legal battles
Appointee-driven agency shiftsChange grant priorities and aid distributionPrevails if politically supported; not judicially reviewable

🎯 Bottom line

Trump could suppress DASS funding via executive actions, budget cuts, grant rescissions, or disrupting its fundraising infrastructure. However, many of those approaches face strong legal and congressional counter‑action. Whether they succeed depends on how far his administration pushes—and how swiftly Democratic states, non‑profits, and Congress push back.


Compiled with aid of ChatGPT

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