Feb. 9, 2026 Editor, The News-Gazette: The president cannot cancel the midterms.
Elections are run at the state and local level — it is spelled out in article one, section four of the Constitution. State and county governments, all 3,200 of them, decide everything from the number of polling places in your state to the budget for each precinct, to whether or not you can vote early or by mail. The president cannot use the military and invoke martial law and have the military enforce local, federal, and state law, especially around elections. The president has no involvement or say in the midterms at all.
Of course, we have already seen unprecedented actions initiated against election integrity. We have seen the Department of Justice open investigations in Fulton County, Ga. We have seen the Department of Justice try to get information on registered voters in Minnesota.
If you are still concerned about election interference from the federal government, call your election officials (Rockbridge County Electoral Board, 540463-7203) and ask them about their plans to counter election interference. Ask your state legislators (Chris Head, 804-698-7503, and Terry Austin, 804-698-1037) to pass laws to safeguard Virginia elections.
Also check your voter registration regularly, to make sure that you have not been removed from the voter rolls. You can check at elections.virginia.gov/registration. Remember that if you encounter difficulties, immediately call the Election Protection Hotline at 1-866-687-8683 and ask for help. If you recently moved, you may still be registered where you used to live. Consider voting early or by mail, to have time to work out any kinks.
Our election process is not perfect, and majority representation does not mean that your views will always be represented, but voting is the best system that we have for nonviolent expression of political will, and we want to make sure that every vote counts. DAPHNE RAZ Rockbridge County
