The Trump administration is intensifying efforts to influence state election practices, including threatening federal funding and warning of potential arrest for election officials who do not remove noncitizens from voter rolls. These actions come less than four months before the midterm elections and reflect persistent claims of widespread voting fraud, which have largely been rejected by courts.
The Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division has sent letters to election officials in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, asserting that knowingly allowing nonvoters to participate or remain on voter rolls could lead to criminal charges. The letters also demand that states provide within five days their plans for compliance with federal law regarding voter registration and election integrity. Election administrators could face prosecution if they knowingly provide false information during voter registration or voting.
Additionally, a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) antiterrorism grant announcement from June outlines election-related requirements. States and urban areas could have 20% of these grants withheld until they comply with stipulations, which include verifying the citizenship of all registered voters and election workers. The grant announcement also suggests that jurisdictions using electronic voting systems with bar codes or QR codes would need to submit plans to transition to hand-marked paper ballots, and all jurisdictions must demonstrate that they conduct results audits. Securing election infrastructure is described as a national security priority within the grant announcement.
Experts suggest that some of these demands may be difficult or impossible for states to meet before the upcoming elections, with some changes potentially requiring new state legislation. Rick Hasen, director of the Safeguarding Democracy Project at UCLA, noted that the administration appears to be using its powers to influence election conduct and potentially undermine public confidence in the electoral process.
Reactions from state officials have varied, often along party lines. Oregon Secretary of State Tobias Read, a Democrat, criticized the Justice Department's actions as baseless threats. In contrast, Ohio Republican Secretary of State Frank LaRose defended the department's directive as a reminder of legal obligations regarding election integrity, asserting that some states are not taking these responsibilities seriously. Georgia's secretary of state's office indicated that the state has already implemented many of the required actions, including citizenship audits of voter rolls.
These latest actions follow a series of challenges and legal defeats for the Trump administration's election-related initiatives. Courts have recently rejected Justice Department attempts to obtain voter roll data and other election information from states including Georgia, New Hampshire, and Pennsylvania. In prior instances, the federal government has lost more than ten similar cases concerning requests for data from numerous states and the District of Columbia. The Supreme Court also recently upheld the ability of states to count mailed ballots arriving after Election Day, rebuking a Trump-era policy.