Welcome to Fair Elections Alert, your rundown of key attacks against voting rights and independent elections across the country over the past week. It’s a way to keep up with what the opponents of democracy are focused on. We’ll highlight critical updates you need to be aware of, with a spotlight on the South, the original frontline in the fight for voting rights.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“So we’re going to do a test run on this election?…We’re not playing an intellectual puzzle game. We’re talking about people’s right to vote.” – US District Court Judge Indira Talwani during a hearing on the Trump administration’s efforts to restrict mail voting ahead of the November election.
NOTABLE TRENDS
DHS Launched Several “Voter Fraud” Initiatives: From early September through mid-October, DHS is launching a “coordinated criminal voter fraud surge initiative” in nine states: Washington, Wisconsin, Missouri, Georgia, California, Pennsylvania, Nevada, New York, and Connecticut. The timing is notable as such overt investigative actions close to an election have historically been discouraged under longstanding DOJ policy to avoid chilling legitimate voting activity, but the new federal guidance does not reference these timing concerns. Meanwhile, DHS launched a secret operation called the “Unlawful Voter Initiative,” deploying hundreds of federal agents to scour voter registration data for noncitizens across all 50 states. In some cases, investigators are effectively posing as individual voters by entering their names and personal information into state election websites, potentially raising privacy concerns. ICE is also seeking to spend up to $5 million on a contract to acquire and analyze voter registration and history files from all 50 states with DHS planning to provide authorization letters to clear legal hurdles in states that restrict commercial data access.
DHS Confirmed ICE Could Deploy at Polling Places for Warrants or Specific Threats: DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin confirms that ICE agents could enter polling places if serving a warrant on someone they have been actively tracking or if there is a specific threat at a location.
DHS Launched National Voter Registry Portal: DHS published a new “State Citizenship Lists Portal” as part of its effort to implement Trump’s March executive order creating a national voter registry using centralized federal data. The portal, which claims lists are “coming soon,” was planned to be fully functional by September 4th. The Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC), a privacy advocacy nonprofit, filed a lawsuit against DHS and SSA, challenging the effort as an unconstitutional attempt to seize control of elections.
USPS Faces Financial Crisis While Rushing to Implement Mail Voting Restrictions: USPS is simultaneously facing legal scrutiny over its capacity to deliver mail-in ballots while warning Congress it may run out of cash without appropriations. Meanwhile, a USPS whistleblower has also alleged the agency is secretly pushing forward with implementing Trump’s mail voting order despite a court block, warning the rushed rollout could cause “catastrophic failure.” Postal experts say implementing sweeping changes months before Election Day would be a “disaster.”
Trump Administration Appealed Latest Block on Mail Voting Order as First Ballots Prepare to Go Out: The Trump administration appealed a federal judge’s ruling blocking its mail voting executive order for two weeks – just days before the first general election mail ballots were scheduled to be sent out on September 4th. The case is headed back to the First Circuit Court of Appeals, though it could quickly return to SCOTUS, which previously allowed the order to proceed on procedural grounds without ruling on its legality.
STATE ACTIVITY
North Carolina • Elections Board Seeks Workaround After New Voting Rules Delayed: North Carolina’s new absentee ballot rules were delayed after enough public objection triggered a mandatory legislative review, but the state Board of Elections is now considering updating less formal “numbered memos” that direct county boards on absentee ballot handling, potentially achieving similar policy changes without going through the formal rule making process.
Texas • 1.2 Million Voters Suspended Ahead of Midterms: More than 1.2 million Texas voters are on the state’s suspense list, meaning officials have been unable to confirm their current residential address. Being on the list will not prevent voting in November but may require filing out additional forms on or before Election Day. Separately, Galveston County revealed plans to move local candidates to new districts under a revised map drawn between the primary and general elections – potentially the first time Texas voting maps have been changed between primaries and a general election. Voting rights advocates are warning the state’s highest court that the maneuver, if allowed, could be repeated statewide to undermine the will of voters.
ANTI-VOTING GROUP ACTIVITY
Minnesota Supreme Court Rejects Lindell’s Recount Bid; Lindell Vows to Appeal to SCOTUS: The Minnesota Supreme Court rejected Mike Lindell’s bid for a full recount of his 45,000-vote loss in the Republican gubernatorial primary, ruling that state election officials followed the law and committed no wrongful acts. Lindell vowed to appeal to SCOTUS and said he would pursue an independent investigation by requesting election data from all 87 counties through FOIA requests.
EIN Launches Nursing Home Voting Toolkit Tied to New CMS Guidance: The Election Integrity Network launched a “Protecting Vulnerable Voters” toolkit aimed at care facilities, families and volunteers, framed around the July 20 CMS memo that shifted federal nursing home voting guidance away from access and toward fraud prevention. The toolkit provides resources for documenting and reporting voting “concerns” in care facilities – a worrying sign among voting rights advocates who warn that voting will suffer even more among a population already facing high obstacles to casting a ballot.
Large scale Federal election rigging doesn't happen at the polls, it happens electronically during transmissions from the equipment and it is far from obvious until someone really sharp looks into it... he knows this because it is how he got in office. He isnt trying to solve an 'actual' problem right now. He's trying to gain access to all of our voting data so that he can control and interfere with elections going forward. He is a masterclass manipulator that says one thing while doing another using media to control the narrative and our institutions to control us. He fixes things to serve his own nefarious purposes. You are right about the mail in ballots! He wants to end mail in voting because it is the one thing he can't manipulate at the moment.
The Fapweasel (Trump) tries to “fix” things that don’t need fixing. There is very little voter fraud. When someone does try to vote fraudulently, they are usually caught, and often they are trying to vote Republican! The security we have at the poles is quite adequate.
Mail in ballots are placed in double envelopes so nobody can tell what’s on them without opening them, and they are only sent to people who are registered voters. The Fapweasel (Trump) is flat out lying! He knows how to vote absentee, because he has done it many times. He knows people can’t cheat and get away with it.
In order for a federal election to be manipulated, the fraud would have to be on such a large scale, it would be obvious!