From the founding of this country and at every critical turning point since, one of our most powerful tools is also our most fundamental right: the freedom to vote. And it has been through a collective of voices—people from ordinary and extraordinary walks of life in all our various roles—that this freedom has been both protected and expanded, not least through critical legal wins and the support of academic institutions.

Today, we find ourselves in a moment when the problems we face cannot be solved in a courtroom alone, when a winning legal argument or a key judicial ruling securing the freedom to vote is vital but not enough to face the threats at hand. As those in power pursue extreme efforts to control our elections and hold onto power, people from all corners need to come together to keep our democratic foundation strong enough to withstand today's most urgent threats.

The last six years have given those of us in the pro-democracy space ample opportunity to work together to defend our elections—and we have risen to the occasion, pairing strong legal strategies with community-led calls to ensure every American can cast a ballot that counts. For example, during the 2024 primaries, election deniers made a concerted effort to press officials to refuse to certify election results they didn’t like. When Nevada’s Washoe County Commission voted not to certify their primary, the Nevada secretary of state and the state attorney general filed a petition in court against the county, supported by the ACLU of Nevada. At a subsequent certification meeting, a coalition of nonpartisan local groups organized more than 100 community members who showed up to call on the commission to uphold the will of the people. Together, those actions pushed two commissioners to change their votes and certify the results. Similarly, that same year in Michigan, the Delta County Board of Canvassers deadlocked over certifying a recall election. The state stepped in and made it clear that the board had a legal duty to certify, and local voices in the public and media added pressure. After just a few days, the board reconvened and certified the results.

The question in front of us now is not only how we can be in relationship—as academics, legal experts, communicators, and activists—to advance our shared nonpartisan, pro-democracy goals, but how our roles must change to sustain an active and multiyear effort to protect our freedom to vote and ensure the will of the people prevails. One thing is for certain: We can meet the moment only if each of us recognizes our unique role, adapts it, and steps up to play it.

The administration and its allies have routinely tried to sow fear and confusion among voters, even when those attempts fail to pass legal muster. The recent news of the Trump administration's moves to consolidate power includes reports of a whistleblower alleging that leaders of the Department of Homeland Security may have directed investigators to break the law in its obsessive hunt for unlawful votes, and Trump himself has gone so far as to promise $5,000 payments if his party wins. What’s more, in the lead-up to a U.S. Supreme Court decision, the U.S. Postal Service allegedly implemented President Trump’s latest executive order on elections to control vote-by-mail despite lower-court orders halting the move. Immediately after the Supreme Court decision, President Trump lambasted the ruling as a loss for Republicans.

These actions not only show just how desperate this administration is to control our elections as the midterms draw near, they also make clear the political motives behind their efforts.

We must also be honest with ourselves—some efforts to consolidate power do, as a technical matter, follow at least the letter of the law. For example, the administration’s seating election deniers and loyalists in positions of power bends the rules to serve partisan interests even if it does not overtly break them. Moves like this do more than advance the administration’s agenda and federal attempts to control our elections; they also undermine voters’ trust in our democracy as a whole, instilling mistrust and doubt and making voters more susceptible to misinformation and deceit.

There are indications that this mistrust is taking root. Recent polling found that a mere 34% of adults in the United States trust the certification of election results. This is a drop of six points from 2024 and sheds a concerning light on growing doubt even in the most routine of election processes. It also points to broader mistrust in government as a whole.

As civil society, we have our work cut out for us: The strategies we’ve used in the past to ensure votes can be cast and counted no longer suffice. Traditional litigation efforts, while still critical, are insufficient to counter the all-out assault on our elections, our freedom to vote, and the parallel threats to the public trust. The crisis we find ourselves in requires strategies built on legal expertise, but not driven exclusively by it. The same is true of advocacy and narrative work. None of our individual efforts in the pro-democracy movement will succeed alone—we all have a role, and it requires cooperation.

When the threats we face are overwhelming, when the task at hand feels too big, we need the legal community to help us make meaning of these moments—right-sizing problems, clarifying pathways out of these dire scenarios, and outlining clear and meaningful targets for activation. Activists, business owners and CEOs, and officials at all levels need support in understanding who has the power to make change and protect our freedoms and also what moves those leaders.

The U.S. Supreme Court’s September decision to block the Trump administration from implementing a U.S. Postal Service rule on mail-in ballots required intervention from legal experts across the country. What’s more, elections officials and business leaders have taken a stand against the effort to disrupt our elections—something only possible because they have the united support and guidance of civil society.

This legal win before the Supreme Court was only a critical first step. Now we must continue coordinating in an effort to instill public confidence and overcome voter worry and confusion with clear, straightforward communications for Americans who may be perplexed about their voting options. Elections officials in states across the country started this work as soon as the mail-in ballot decision came down, but they need ongoing support. Now it's our shared task to amplify these officials’ work and support their on-the-ground efforts with data, research, and legal insight. Americans need commonsense, straightforward communications backed by strong legal analysis and research-backed message guidance.

Defeating these attacks on our freedom to vote requires collective action on a scale that matches the threat's severity. The very things that make America beautiful—the patchwork of cultures, experiences, and languages that make us who we are—are also what we need to protect our fundamental freedom and thwart this threat to our vote. And here’s the kicker: We know how to do this. We’ve come together at critical moments of our nation’s history, and now is a time to move as a collective once again.