In this special edition
Editor’s note
The 2026 midterm election campaign wraps up tomorrow under seemingly unrivaled strain. Months of legal battles over federal overreach and anticipated post-election certification battles have cemented that tension, with polls highlighting sizable voter anxiety over election interference and efforts to subvert results. In some ways, voters will be as focused on how smoothly Election Day goes as on who wins.
In the face of this wavering trust, political scientist Robert Glover at the University of Maine examines what election officials actually do to keep elections credible. Glover knows what he’s writing about. Besides studying elections, he trains student poll workers. He also serves alongside them and helps administer elections in his state. Glover notes that one response from election officials has been simple: Make the mundane processes, like watching officials check voters in and account for ballots, visible to the public. Election officials, Glover writes, can’t control whether voters like the outcome, but they can make the processes comprehensible. And that can build more trust in the outcomes.
Like Glover’s story, the articles assembled here are practical. In anticipation of potential conflicts, they highlight what to watch for on Election Day – from what the law says about armed officers at the polls, to what to do if your vote is challenged, to the expectation that elections Tuesday will be free of chaos.
