In the early months of a contentious presidential term, federal courts have stepped in to slow two distinct exercises of executive power — one involving the fate of a beloved national landmark, the other the integrity of the democratic act itself. A judge's order requiring 30 days' notice before any demolition of the Kennedy Center, alongside lawsuits challenging armed federal officers at polling sites, together trace the ancient tension between the reach of executive authority and the limits a society places upon it. These are not merely procedural skirmishes; they are questions about who hol