All articles tagged with #election security
President Trump fired the last remaining members of the independent Election Assistance Commission, effectively disabling the panel that certifies voting systems and advises election officials, prompting Democratic criticism and fears of disruption to election administration ahead of the midterms.
A Syracuse poll worker says ICE agents visited her polling site during New York’s primary to pressure her to delete a six-month-old Instagram post about an ICE agent, prompting concerns over First Amendment rights and worker safety. She asserts that election workers should be safe and not intimidated at polling places, and says she’ll pursue legal options for free-speech violations. Lawmakers are seeking explanations about the emailed/posted visit and the broader use of ICE at polling sites as election-related tensions rise ahead of November.
Two ICE agents confronted a Syracuse poll worker during a primary voting site visit, warning her to remove a social-media post about an ICE agent involved in a Minnesota shooting; New York Attorney General Letitia James is reviewing the incident. The confrontation did not disrupt voting, but officials warn it could chill election workers and stoke fears of federal interference as debates over deploying federal agents to polling places continue.
Trump’s push for the SAVE America Act and other election-security measures has left Capitol Hill in gridlock, with Speaker Mike Johnson trying to salvage the GOP agenda by keeping the House in session for a Trump meeting and votes on spending bills. A White House request for roughly $88 billion in Iran war funding, farm aid, and disaster relief complicates budget talks, and if no deal is reached, votes for the week (and next) could be canceled, threatening a party-line reconciliation package and major defense funding.
Democrats, led by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, conducted tabletop drills with election experts to plan legal and communications responses to potential election interference by Trump or foreign actors in the midterms, including injunctions against armed polling-site interventions and lawsuits to recover ballots, plus coordinated messaging to counter misinformation; more rehearsals are planned for July as they coordinate with state and local officials.
Pro-democracy experts warn that Donald Trump’s ongoing claims that California’s elections are rigged fit his familiar playbook and could be amplified by federal action as midterm races unfold; California’s jungle primary and mail-in voting can delay counts for weeks, a reality officials emphasize to counter misinformation, while election advocates urge accountability from party leaders and higher turnout to defend democracy.
Sen. Mark Warner called acting DNI Bill Pulte a 'national security risk,' saying his lack of national-security experience and loyalty to Trump could threaten election security. Warner questioned whether Pulte would be formally nominated, while critics note his absence of relevant background. Trump has not officially nominated a permanent DNI, and other leaders say Pulte faces a difficult confirmation path. Pulte previously suggested DOJ probes into Democratic figures, though none led to convictions.
Richardson argues the Supreme Court’s unsigned Callais decision lets Alabama’s 2023 map stand, potentially replacing a Black Democratic lawmaker with a white Republican and highlighting a broader MAGA-led push in Washington—from reshaping science funding and stripping civil-service protections to pressuring FISA and DNI leadership—while Congress grapples with Iran war, Ukraine aid, and election-security concerns, underscoring the need for turnout and vigilance against gerrymandering and election software manipulation ahead of the midterms.
President Trump named Bill Pulte, a wealthy housing-finance official with no intelligence background, as acting director of national intelligence, signaling a loyalty-first, move-fast approach to election security; Pulte has previously used his FHFA role to push referrals against Trump opponents, raising questions about qualifications and potential political influence over intelligence and declassification ahead of the midterms; the appointment follows a pattern of installing loyalists, with Lukas slated to become acting DNI after Gabbard’s departure.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom said he would tax 100% of any money Californians receive from President Trump’s $1.776‑billion “anti-weaponization” fund, a move that would require legislative action and could face legal challenges. He spoke as he signed Senate Bill 73, which bars law enforcement from seizing ballots and imposes fines and up to three years in jail for violations, and he warned federal agencies like ICE/Border Patrol against intimidating voters near Dodger Stadium. Newsom argued Trump will continue to interfere with elections, signaling a broader fight over election security and political funding.
Nebraska Secretary of State Bob Evnen lost the GOP primary to Scott Petersen, who campaigned on election integrity concerns and promoted extensive hand-counting while calling for tighter limits on mail voting. Evnen defended Nebraska’s voting system as secure and highlighted a 10% hand-count audit, but Petersen’s messages—often spreading debunked conspiracy theories about voting equipment—proved compelling enough to unseat the two-term incumbent. Petersen’s upset victory in a conservative state makes him the favorite in November’s general election.
Federal authorities are investigating after roughly 500 ballots from multiple elections were found behind a Renton, Washington dumpster; the ballots appeared to be outgoing and were not retrieved, not counted, and are being reviewed by King County Elections with the USPS, Renton Police, and the FBI. Rep. Jim Walsh raised concerns about vulnerabilities in Washington’s vote-by-mail system, but election officials say safeguards prevented any fraud and criticize the public posting of the ballots. The Secretary of State and King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office are involved, and the case remains active.
Georgia lawmakers failed to fund or finalize a plan to remove barcodes from ballots by July, leaving the state on pace to use Dominion touch-screen machines for the November election. Proposals to switch to hand-marked paper ballots by 2028 and to fund new equipment are moving slowly, with potential Senate resistance and concerns about disrupting ballots and audits. Local officials have favored delaying action to avoid chaos, while the broader push to change Georgia's voting system remains unresolved.
Democrats in Colorado’s General Assembly say Gov. Polis should not commute Tina Peters’ nine-year prison sentence, pushing back on his comparison to a separate case and urging accountability for Peters’ role in breaching election security; Polis has indicated he’s reviewing clemency and has raised concerns about sentencing disparities, while the Peters case awaits appellate review and potential parole in 2028.
Democratic state attorneys general are conducting tabletop exercises to plan how to counter possible Trump-inspired moves to disrupt midterm voting, including potential seizures of ballots or voting machines, attempts to throttle mail voting, and the deployment of federal or immigration enforcement to polling sites; they’re preparing provisional legal strategies to preserve election materials and monitoring Trump’s rhetoric while pursuing court challenges to related executive orders.