Eyewitness News Political Reporter Josh Haskell asked Schiff if he believed the Trump administration's multiple lawsuits over voting rights -- including an effort to limit submitting ballots by mail -- are part of a deliberate plan to confuse voters and discourage them from voting.
"I think it's very much part of the administration's plan," Schiff said. "They realize, I think, there's going to be a major backlash against the tariffs, against the Iran War, against many of the president's policies that have raised the cost of living for Americans.
"And they want to basically discourage people from voting," the senator added. "Their hope is to win the election by depriving people of the franchise. So all around the country there's this attack on voting."
Mail voting for this year's midterm elections kicked off Friday amid a churning legal battle over Trump's attempts to limit the practice and mounting concern over Postal Service changes that some state officials blame for a rise in rejected ballots.
Asked if a Supreme Court decision could upend the midterms, Schiff responded: "It could. I don't have much hope for the Supreme Court but I would hope that at a minimum they would realize just what kind of chaos they would cause.
"It's also a violation of the law and the constitution," the senator said. "The president doesn't have the unilateral authority to simply change the election system to his pleasure. That's not how it works under our system."
In the interview, Schiff was also asked about Proposition 39, California's proposed voter identification measure, which he opposes.
Schiff said Prop. 39 would require voters "to put part of your identification on your ballot before it could get counted. It also might require millions of people to re-register or add to their registration -- go into the system and put in their Social Security number, put in their driver's license. And if they use the wrong form of ID, then their vote might not count if it doesn't match what's on file.
"This is a solution in search of a problem," the senator said. "It's already illegal to vote if you're not an eligible voter."
On Tuesday, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said that Canada would move faster to reduce its economic reliance on the U.S. and deepen ties with Europe as retaliatory tariffs took effect on about $20 billion worth of U.S. goods and the country braced for U.S. Trump's response.
Asked for his assessment of the trade war and Trump's personal attacks on Carney, Schiff replied: "I think it's stupid and destructive."
"The Canadians have been our strongest allies," Schiff said. "They fought side by side with us in every war we've been engaged in. To treat them this way, and to engage in this self-destructive trade war makes no sense at all. Canadians are not our enemies."