The training gets citizens thinking about what Trump and his allies could do to undermine the voting process and election results.
The exercises are theoretical but based on reality: the president has already sought to undermine California's election results and said they will be investigated.
Defending democracy is often seen as the work of election officials or nonprofits filing lawsuits.
Some states have put laws in place to fend off federal overreach, beefing up election security and informing the public to counter misinformation from the White House.
But with partisan gerrymandering and a president who denies unfavorable results, advocates say defending democracy requires all hands on deck.
The block-by-block strategy keeps eyes on election processes, since people vote by precinct where they live.
In 2020, institutional guardrails held when Trump sought to overturn the election.
Times have changed: Trump has filled his government with loyalists, and there is growing apprehension that protections may not hold.
In Minnesota, the president's threats carry weight. Organizing can feel daunting; people are burnt out after months of activism.
They worry about criminalization: the Department of Justice has charged nearly 40 people over a church protest and 15 more with conspiracy for responses to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, not to mention hundreds detained and deported.
Protect Democracy, a nonprofit, called the charges a sign of how the administration could undermine the vote.
It's part of a "disrupt" strategy to deploy federal power against opponents, said Jess Marsden, counsel and director of impact programs at Protect Democracy.
