#1831 Midterm Madness: Defending the Vote, the Count, the Results, and the Certification

Air Date: 10/30/2026 Today we look at the midterm machinery. The administration's attempts to mess with the election continually lose in court, but the tampering attempts will keep coming: whose ballots get thrown out, which winners get certified, who ultimately gets seated. Voting too big to rig, early and in overwhelming numbers, is only the beginning, followed by people being ready to show up and protect the count. Full Show Notes Transcript Leave a Voice Message BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Members Support and Get No Ads!) Link in Bio - Everything in one place! (Support, contact, socials, books + merch) TOP TAKES KP 1: Republicans Should Have to Answer for Elon Musk - Takes™ by Jamelle Bouie - Air Date 10-26-26 KP 2: Polarization Is Not Our Biggest Problem - On the Media - Air Date 10-9-26 KP 3: Can Trump Deport Ilhan Omar? - Today, Explained - Air Date 10-21-26 KP 4: The Republican Party & The Far Right - Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO) - Air Date 10-25-26 KP 5: EXCLUSIVE: 'No Kings' Demands Meta Explain Instagram Suspension - All In with Chris Hayes - Air Date 10-19-26 KP 6: What the Elections in Brazil and Serbia Don't Mean for Us - Resistance History with Tad Stoermer - Air Date 10-26-26 (00:54:13) NOTE FROM THE EDITOR The Progressive Left Was Right About Trump's Authoritarianism My commentaries on YouTube - Share them! DEEPER DIVES (00:58:09) SECTION A: RIGGING THE COUNT AND FIGHTING BACK A1: Trump Says He Ordered Suit to Block Alaska Senate Results if GOP Loses - PBS NewsHour - Air Date 10-23-26 A2: What Marc Elias Says Trump Is Really up to with Bogus Alaska Lawsuit - The Briefing with Jen Psaki - Air Date 10-24-26 A3: BUCKLE UP: National Security Officials Secretly Preparing for Post-Election "Contingencies" - The Humanist Report - Air Date 10-22-26 A4: Trump Launched Test Run To HACK Voting Machines? - Status Coup News - Air Date 10-21-26 A5: Polling, Vote Flipping, Mail Ballot Rejections, Trump's DOJ and Other Late Threats to the Midterms - The BradCast W/ Brad Friedman - Air Date 10-22-26 (01:35:44) SECTION B: THE GOP RADICALIZED B1: Well...what if They Are Actually Nazis? - Takes™ by Jamelle Bouie - Air Date 10-14-26 B2: A.M. Homes', The Unfolding of an American Democracy - Absent Any Consensus on What Is Real and True, All Bets Are Sort of Off - Laura Flanders and Friends: Solutions-Focused Progressive Perspectives on Politics, News, and Culture - Air Date 10-17-26 B3: Donald Trump Is Doing Everything He Can to Drive the GOP Off a Cliff - Takes™ by Jamelle Bouie - Air Date 10-23-26 B4: Stupid Democrats, Evil Republicans and the Future King of America - UNFTR Media - Air Date 10-20-26 B5: JD Vance's Town Hall Was a Disaster - Some More News - Air Date 10-20-26 (02:16:04) SECTION C: ON THE BALLOT - CANDIDATES AND RACES C1: Trump Believes THOUSANDS Vote Illegally: They Charged 28 People - What A Day - Air Date 10-22-26 C2: Charles Blow Challenges Double Standards in Scrutiny of Abdul El-Sayed - CNN - Air Date 10-24-26 C3: Ohio Governor's Race: Trump Backs Ramaswamy Ad Siding with Opponent's Indicted Childhood Rapist - Democracy Now! - Air Date 10-23-26 C4: Trump DOJ Accidentally EXPOSES Republican ELECTION FRAUD?!?! - Legal AF - Air Date 10-21-26 C5: Claims of Vote-switching in FL, TN and GA. Here's the Truth. - Parkrose Resistance - Air Date 10-22-26 (02:51:39) SECTION D: WHAT THIS ELECTION IS ACTUALLY ABOUT D1: Questions About American Democracy and the Midterms on a Friday Morning - Resistance History with Tad Stoermer - Air Date 10-23-26 D2: Prediction Markets Have a Lock on the Midterms - The Intercept Briefing - Air Date 10-9-26 Produced by Jay! Tomlinson Visit us at BestOfTheLeft.com Listen Anywhere! BestOfTheLeft.com/Listen Follow BotL: Bluesky | Mastodon | Threads | X Like at Facebook.com/BestOfTheLeft Contact me directly at [email protected]