Former Congresswoman Liz Cheney, one of two Republican members of the January 6th committee, is emphasizing concerns about tactics employed by the Trump administration in the 2026 midterm elections.
As Cheney was preparing to speak about election integrity for the Sacramento Speakers Series, event moderator Edie Lambert interviewed her for California Tonight. The interview began minutes after Judge David Carter issued a ruling, denying the Department of Justice’s request for California to set aside 20,000 ballots until the citizenship of the voters could be verified. Cheney said she was encouraged by the decision.
“I was heartened to see Judge Carter ruled in favor of the state and made the point that were he to issue the ruling that the Department of Justice was seeking, it would violate longstanding constitutional principles that our states are responsible for our elections,” Cheney said.
She added that similar efforts to sow doubt about election integrity have been seen across the country.
“The administration is attempting to chaos,” said Cheney. She described attempts to mandate that states turn over voter rolls and other court filings as an effort to try to “create the sense that, in fact, people can’t count on our elections, that they can’t rely on our elections. So far, you’ve seen the courts in case after case really stand up against what the administration’s attempting to do,” Cheney said.
With the midterm elections just days away, Cheney expressed concern about the potential for further challenges to democratic processes. Her concerns are based in part on what she learned as the Vice Chair of “The United States House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol.” After an 18-month investigation, the committee recommended criminal prosecution of President Donald Trump for his actions to try to overturn the 2020 election, including the attack on the U.S. Capitol.
“We have seen this playbook before. We’ve seen the efforts that the president made with respect to the 2020 election in terms of making claims that have no basis in fact, have no basis in evidence, a real refusal to honor the sanctity of our election system if the results don’t turn out the way that he would prefer,” Cheney said.
She noted polling trends suggesting Democrats may take the majority in the House and possibly the Senate, attributing this to voter dissatisfaction with the administration’s direction and President Trump’s historically low approval ratings.
“Because the President is sensing that as well, he has already begun the process of making these allegations that the election is going to be fraudulent. And I think if we take the past as precedent for what is likely to happen this time around, I think we have to absolutely anticipate that they will attempt to throw out results, to throw out the votes of the people if they don’t like the outcome,” Cheney said.
When asked what concerned citizens can do to protect democracy, Cheney emphasized the importance of voting and vigilance.
“I think, first of all, it’s so important to vote, so important that people ensure that they’re participating in our process, to make sure that they’re being vigilant about what’s happening at the polling places,” Cheney said. “We have to really rely on our local and state officials, those who actually are both poll observers, poll watchers, and also the people that we entrust with the responsibility of counting our votes.”
She also stressed the significance of holding elected officials accountable and ensuring Congress respects legitimate election outcomes.
“Making sure that elected officials know they’ll be held accountable, making sure that the leadership in Congress knows that they’ll be held accountable if they attempt in the House, for example, to refuse to seat people who are legitimately elected, I think those are all issues where people really need to have increased vigilance,” Cheney said.
Cheney concluded by highlighting the importance of voter turnout, noting early voting numbers as a positive sign of engagement.
For races President Trump is watching most closely, she explained, “the bigger the margin of victory is… the tougher it will be for them to cheat.”
Click here for more on the Sacramento Speakers Series.
This story was featured as part of our new California Tonight show. It airs Monday-Friday at 7:30 p.m. Watch on KCRA and KSBW.