Trump administration Is Wreaking Havoc on Electoral System Before Midterms

The Trump administration’s Justice Department is pursuing a series of election-related actions ahead of the midterms that critics say are intended to create confusion and make it easier to dispute unfavorable results. The department has sought unredacted voter rolls, challenged state election procedures, and alleged widespread noncitizen voting, despite bipartisan investigations finding such cases exceedingly rare. It has also threatened election officials with criminal prosecution over record preservation. Election experts argue the legal efforts are failing but serve as political theater: 34 federal district courts have ruled against the administration on efforts to obtain voter data or impose election-related executive orders. They emphasize that elections are administered by state and local officials, not the federal government, and expect further attempts to cast doubt on results if Republicans lose.

The report details disputes in several states. In California, a judge rejected the DOJ’s bid to isolate ballots from roughly 20,000 voters it alleged were noncitizens; an independent review found more than 40 percent of the names were not in current voter files, and the department’s appeal was denied. In Alaska, the DOJ sought to block certification if Democrat Mary Peltola won, alleging a spoiler candidate was part of a conspiracy; a federal judge dismissed the suit, citing voters’ right to a secret ballot. Nevada officials said DHS repeatedly reduced its estimate of suspected noncitizen voters without producing evidence, while Washington’s secretary of state rejected a late DOJ demand to isolate about 400 ballots. A Texas Republican group is also suing to require hand-counting before certification.