Democrats prep for election interference as Trump administration makes moves

Democrats are preparing for potential election interference after a series of remarks from President Trump and actions from his administration targeting a swath of states. 

The Justice Department (DOJ) preemptively filed a lawsuit last week in Alaska that could block certification of results if Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan loses reelection, arguing that a win for former Rep. Mary Peltola (D-Alaska) could be the result of voter confusion with third candidate Dan J. Sullivan on the ballot. 

Trump also appears to have his sights set on Minnesota, writing in a TruthSocial post on Monday that his administration “watching closely” for voter fraud in the state’s Senate race between Republican Michele Tafoya and Democrat Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan. 

The Trump administration has taken aim at other states, as well, in the final week leading up to Election Day. 

On Monday, a federal appeals court blocked the Justice Department from making California election officials set aside 20,000 ballots in the state that it claimed were from non-citizen voters. 

And in Washington State, the DOJ has asked its secretary of state to review a list of over 400 registered voters it believes could also be noncitizens. 

When asked on Tuesday if he would respect the midterm results, Trump said he would “if they’re honest elections.” 

The efforts have stoked fears among Democrats that the administration could move to challenge election results if the GOP sees widespread victories following Election Day. 

“They’re just throwing all of this stuff out there in an attempt to discourage people from believing in the system and trying to discourage people from coming out and registering them to vote, and then actually voting themselves,” former Attorney General Eric Holder said in an interview with CNN on Tuesday.

“Any of these things that they are doing could have been easily done after the election, consistent with the way in which the Justice Department normally operates,” he continued. 

Sen. Tina Smith (D-Minn.) accused Trump on Monday of “blatantly laying the groundwork to steal an election.” 

“Minnesota will not take kindly to thinly veiled threats from a guy we’ve rejected three times (soon to be four),” Smith wrote in a post on X. 

The Democratic National Committee said in a statement Tuesday that it was prepared to counter the administration’s efforts. 

“We have grown our voter protection program, with staff based in more than 35 states to train and support election observers all across the country. The DNC’s first-ever in-house litigation team is working tirelessly to defeat attacks on our voting rights as Republicans attempt to make it harder for voters to cast their ballots and hold them accountable for their cost-raising, billionaires-first agenda,” said DNC spokesman Angelo Fernández Hernández. 

Rachel Jacobs, a senior partner at the Democratic-aligned Elias Law Group, told The Hill the firm was ready to respond to any actions taken by the administration after the election. 

“If and when the election deniers in the Trump administration try similar or new tactics this fall, we will be ready to fight back and ensure that the results are certified according to the will of the voters,” Jacobs said, referring to efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. 

Minnesota is one of the few states on the Senate map where Republicans could potentially see a pickup opportunity. Last week, the nonpartisan Cook Political Report moved the race toward Republicans from “likely Democrat” to “lean Democrat. Recent polls out of the race show Flanagan narrowly leading Tafoya. 

Meanwhile, Alaska’s Senate race is considered much more of a toss-up. The incumbent Sullivan is defending his seat against Peltola, who along with Dan J. Sullivan advanced to the general election as a result of the state’s ranked choice voting system. 

The administration has also sought to take action in the deep blue states of California and Washington, citing votes from noncitizens.

On Tuesday, as California voters were in the midst of returning their mail-in ballots, U.S. District Judge David Carter was preparing to hear the case after it was blocked by a federal appeals court. 

White House spokeswoman Lauren Bis vowed in a statement that anyone who illegally voted “will be held accountable,” while a Justice Department spokesperson said it makes “no apology for protecting those votes.”

“When this department acts to keep noncitizens from voting, it’s called election interference. That’s a double standard. Enforcing election law right before an election is exactly when it matters most and voters deserve to know their elections are being protected,” the Justice Department spokesperson said.