WASHINGTON: State officials overseeing US elections are bracing for further intervention by President Donald Trump’s administration in next week’s midterm elections, amid fears that federal authorities could disrupt voting, challenge ballot counts or attempt to block unfavourable results.
Trump, whose Republican Party faces an uphill battle to retain control of Congress, has repeatedly questioned the integrity of US elections and urged his party to “nationalise” voting in at least 15 places.
The White House says it is protecting election security, while many of the feared scenarios remain hypothetical. The US Constitution gives the president no direct role in running elections, and federal courts have so far rejected the administration’s main legal challenges.
Here are the key potential flashpoints:
Before election day
Voter eligibility: The Justice Department has sued 30 states and the District of Columbia to obtain their voter registration lists, saying it needs them to identify non-citizens. It has lost more than two dozen of those cases.
It has also demanded that ballots be set aside for about 20,000 people in California and more than 400 in Washington state whom it suspects of being non-citizens.
A federal judge rejected the request concerning California on Wednesday, saying it would wreak havoc on an election that was already under way. Washington state has also refused the demand.
Studies have repeatedly found that non-citizen voting is exceptionally rare.
Pressure on officials: The Justice Department has warned election officials in every state that they could face prosecution if they knowingly allow non-citizens to vote.
Trump also offered US$1 million on Monday for information leading to a voter fraud conviction, without providing further details.
At polling stations
Federal monitors: The Justice Department plans to deploy around 1,000 election monitors across all 50 states, its largest deployment ever.
Monitoring is a decades-old practice, but Democrats and voting rights groups fear the presence of monitors could intimidate voters. The department says they will be unarmed, barred from interfering with voting and drawn from neither the FBI nor Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Immigration agents and troops: Advocates fear ICE operations near polling stations could deter voters in immigrant communities.
The administration says it has no plans for operations targeting polling places, although Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin has said ICE agents could serve warrants there.
Trump has declined to rule out declaring a national emergency or invoking the Insurrection Act, which allows the president to deploy troops domestically.
A Civil War-era law prohibits troops and armed federal agents from being deployed at polling places, while legal experts say an emergency declaration would not give the president authority over elections.
Counting the votes
Seizing election materials: Federal agents could seek warrants or subpoenas for ballots, voting machines or records, potentially disrupting the counting process.
In January, the FBI seized ballots and other records from the 2020 election in Fulton County, Georgia, which was at the centre of Trump’s false claims that he had won that election.
Election officials warn that similar action during an active count could undermine safeguards designed to track how ballots are handled.
Challenging the count: Trump could allege fraud involving mail-in ballots, voting machines or votes counted after election night, fuelling demands for recounts or attempts to halt the counting process.
However, the US Supreme Court ruled in June that states may count mail ballots postmarked by election day but arriving afterwards, while courts can intervene against unlawful disruption.
After election day
Blocking certification: The Justice Department has sued Alaska to delay certification of its Senate race if Republican incumbent Dan Sullivan narrowly loses to Democrat Mary Peltola. It cited a second candidate named Dan Sullivan, whom it says is attempting to confuse voters, an allegation the candidate denies.
Trump said he had ordered the lawsuit.
Experts say federal law does not allow the department to block certification, which courts can compel officials to carry out.
Challenging Democratic victories: Trump could pressure state officials to dispute election results, as he did after losing the 2020 election.
Experts warn that unresolved disputes could also delay the swearing-in of newly elected lawmakers in January.
However, courts have repeatedly upheld states’ authority over elections, while Democrats and voting rights groups have assembled legal teams to challenge any interference.
