Election deniers are shifting their rhetoric from ‘stolen’ to ‘rigged’ elections. The distinction is important

• On the surface, it might seem like a minor shift in terminology. But their pivot reflects an unsettling reality.
  
  
• That’s because they’re using “rigged” to refer not to fraud or other actual cheating, but simply to voting policies that, they believe, make it too easy to cast a ballot. As such, it reflects an underlying fear on the right of widespread voting.
  

➤ Why their pivot is so troubling

In good sign for voters, court won’t fast-track Trump DOJ voter roll appeals

• A federal appeals court declined today to put three Department of Justice (DOJ) appeals of voter rolls cases on the emergency timeline the department requested. The decision slows DOJ’s push for sensitive voter data from Maine, Massachusetts and Rhode Island.
  
  
• It’s a procedural setback for the department, which is trying to recover from an unprecedented losing streak in its nationwide crusade to obtain unredacted statewide voter rolls.

➤ What does the setback mean for Trump?

Speaker Mike Johnson says House will pass stalled SAVE America Act ‘one more time’ after latest Trump demands

• His announcement that it’ll go through a reconciliation process came a day after Trump used his July 4 speech to again call for the bill’s passage. But the anti-voting legislation has repeatedly stalled in the U.S. Senate — and still appears to lack the votes to pass.
  
  
• Among the steep hurdles the bill will face in the upper chamber are strict rules about what can be included in budget bills.

➤ The latest on Trump’s massive voter suppression bill

GOP congressman drops lawsuit challenging California’s mail-in ballot receipt deadline

• Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) dropped the suit following the Supreme Court's recent decision upholding mail ballot grace periods. His lawsuit sought to block the state from counting mail-in ballots received after Election Day.

➤ More about the lawsuit

We need a Second Founding to build a stronger democracy. Young Americans must lead it

• “The role of young people in helping to build a freer and more democratic America has often been overlooked,” a constitutional rights attorney and Harvard Kennedy School professor write in a new Democracy Docket op-ed.
  
  
• “Now, we propose that youth and their older allies honor both anniversaries by launching a Second Founding agenda to ensure a multiracial, multiethnic, and multigenerational democracy that is inclusive, secure, and safe for citizens and immigrants for the next 250 years.”

➤ Read the proposal

• Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: Trump called a high-level official to try to improperly influence a closely watched contest? It’s not Georgia’s 2020 presidential election — it’s the World Cup. In remarks today, Trump — who admitted he didn’t know what a red card was — confirmed he called FIFA president Gianni Infantino to review a red card that was given to U.S. star Folarin Balogun that would have stopped him from playing in tonight’s crucial game against Belgium.
  
  Balogun’s red card was controversially suspended by FIFA. This seemed to please Trump, who said that if the decision had gone the “other way” and Belgium then beat the U.S. tonight, he’d claim the game was “rigged, just like the election was rigged in 2020.” Trump just can’t seem to help himself when it comes to undermining the integrity of competitions, whether it be the World Cup or free elections.
  
  

• Trump wading into soccer is pretty hypocritical considering Balogun wouldn’t even be on the U.S. team if it weren’t for birthright citizenship, which Trump’s administration has tried to eliminate.
  
  

• Speaking of Trump, several kids had to sit through Trump's remarks on Trump Accounts and other matters. The expressions on their faces are iconic. We feel you, kids. We feel you.
  
  

• Sigh. Voters are reportedly using AI to figure out who to vote for. Excuse me, I’m going to go smash my computer against a rock. Maybe I’ll touch some grass while I’m at it.
  
  

• Since we’re talking about tech, Trump also asked during a news conference if people knew who the “number one person on Tic Tac is by far?” It’s been a long day, so I’ll keep this brief. Two things: It’s called TikTok, and he’s not the most followed account there. It’s not even close.