Happy Election Day! As voters head to polls in all 50 states, RightCount and Declare News remain committed to educating voters about the vital importance of constitutional fidelity and local control when it comes to elections.

Below, you will find our latest ICYMI spotlighting a new piece by Gabriel Sterling, who dismantles the DOJ’s interventions while defending the competence of our state election officials.

Sterling’s column arrives just days after former Maricopa County Recorder Helen Purcell penned her own essay for Declare News, urging the courts to reject late-stage federal chaos and uphold the "Purcell principle" in the final stretch of the midterms.

Together, these conservative voices underscore our core mission: proving that the safest place for American elections is out of Washington’s hands and squarely under the jurisdiction of the states.

Here's the ICYMI…

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On Election Day, the Real Guardians of Democracy Are in Our Counties and States – Not Washington

As millions of Americans head to the polls across the country today, the bedrock principle of our elections is on full display: decentralized, state-led administration conducted by dedicated local clerks, volunteers, and neighbors in all 50 states.

While local election officials work tirelessly to deliver secure and accurate elections, the contrast with Washington could not be starker. Over the past year, federal overreach and attempts by the U.S. Department of Justice to meddle in state-level oversight have crashed against the hard reality of the rule of law.

Across the country, federal courts have systematically rejected the department's overreach. In cases decided on the merits at the district court level, the Department of Justice is currently 0-27, a remarkable string of 27 consecutive dismissals that highlights the bankruptcy of federal interference.

Writing in Declare News, election administration expert Gabe Sterling lays out how shoddy legal work, basic clerical blunders, and legally baseless interventions not only waste taxpayer resources, but actively undermine the reputation for seriousness and constitutional fidelity that conservatives have long championed.

Key excerpts from the piece are below:

DOJ’s Incompetence Should Concern Everyone, Republicans Included

Gabriel Sterling | November 2, 2026

"Sloppy complaints and consistently rejected arguments waste the time of courts and defendants and the money of taxpayers. It also diminishes the credibility of law enforcement, which has costs beyond the here and now. During this Midterm election year, the Trump administration has repeatedly attempted to interfere with state and local oversight of the election process. What frustrates me as a lifelong Republican is the 'Keystone Kops' nature of it all, especially with the Department of Justice."

"When I was coming up in politics in the ’80s, ’90s, and 2000s, the Republican Party and Republican administrations took pride in competence. When you saw lawyers from the Justice Department walking into a grand jury proceeding or courtroom, you knew they had their act together. You knew their arguments were well-researched and firmly grounded in the law and the facts. This standard attracted the caliber of professional the federal government needs, to keep our nation secure and win the trust of the public."

[...]

"In December 2025, DOJ filed a lawsuit against my state of Georgia, seeking access to unredacted statewide voter rolls containing sensitive personal information. I’m not a lawyer, but I know there’s a proper federal judicial district in which to file a lawsuit. For this case, it was the Northern District of Georgia. Atlanta is there. But no. Justice filed in the Middle District of Georgia. The suit was dismissed for improper venue. The department refiled in the correct district, only to lose again, this time on the merits, in September."

"In January 2026, DOJ filed a similar complaint in Virginia, seeking access to unredacted voter rolls. That complaint contained some rather basic errors, including misspelling 'Virginia' as 'Virgina' on the very first page... Virginia Democrats have been equally careless in court filings, but I would like the nation’s top legal department to at least run a spell-check before filing something with a federal court. Instead, 'voter rolls' is being spelled 'voter roles.' ... In July, the case was dismissed with prejudice—not because of a typo, but because the court rejected the department’s legal theory."

[...]

"Finally, there’s DOJ’s broader campaign to obtain states’ unredacted voter-registration lists, including personally identifiable information (PII). DOJ is now 0–27 in cases decided on the merits at the district court level. Zero wins. Twenty-seven dismissals. Yes, there was a settlement with Oklahoma, and many of the dismissals are being appealed. But the district court record speaks for itself."

"Courts are doing their jobs. Justice is failing to make its case. And too often, the department is undermining itself with mistakes that are as elementary as they are avoidable."

[...]

"We need a competent, professional, effective Justice Department. We need lawyers who know the law, respect the facts, and understand the enormous responsibility that comes with the power of the federal government. The nature of this Justice Department’s election-related efforts threatens to undermine the department’s credibility for years to come. And for Republicans and conservatives, something else has been lost: the reputation for seriousness that once defined so much of our approach to governing."

Read Gabriel Sterling’s full column at Declare News.

To learn more about RightCount’s work defending state-led election administration, the rule of law, and local election safeguards, visit RightCount.org.