On Sunday, a major new New York Times investigation detailed the likely next targets in Trump’s election “takeover” effort: Michigan, North Carolina, Arizona, and Pennsylvania. These battleground states are where the strategy could escalate – and where Trump’s allies are already moving to exert greater control over election systems.
The NYT report outlines how a network of election deniers, political operatives, and government officials connected to Trump’s efforts to overturn his 2020 loss are targeting states, including
At the center of this network is the Election Integrity Network (EIN), the organization founded by Trump’s 2020 attorney Cleta Mitchell who played a “central role” in efforts to overturn his 2020 loss. Mitchells’ EIN has spread false election claims and organized pressure campaigns aimed at reshaping election rules in those same battleground states.
Just one day after the New York Times story was published, new reporting from POLITICO revealed that the FBI had secretly obtained “terabytes” of election records from a controversial review of Arizona’s Maricopa County. BY using a grand jury subpoena – issued by the U.S. Department of Justice, not by a judge.
The escalation comes after the FBI’s January raid to seize 2020 ballots in Fulton County, Georgia. Together, these developments show an escalating national strategy: create allegations about election irregularities, use them to justify federal intervention, and shift control over election administration away from local officials.
“The same people who spent years spreading lies about the 2020 election are now trying to rewrite the rules for 2026. What we’re seeing is a coordinated effort by election deniers to strip authority away from trusted, local election officials and seize control of how elections are run before a single vote is cast,” said Karol Molinares, spokesperson for Fair Fight Action.
Why The NY Times Investigation Matters
The reporting highlights a coordinated effort to reshape election administration by abusing federal power to advance sham “fraud” investigations. Taken together, the strategy is coming into focus: control who runs elections, how ballots are counted, and which votes are challenged.
The progression from Georgia to Arizona serves as clear evidence of how Trump’s takeover plot is rapidly advancing. These actions represent a major escalation of federal overreach to interfere with state-run elections. No president has abused federal criminal investigations in this way to obtain ballots and election materials years after an election.
These coordinated efforts are actively creating a chilling effect among voters. After Trump singled out major cities with large Black populations like Philadelphia, Detroit, and Atlanta, officials are hearing from constituents concerned that “we’re not even going to have an election.”
The focus has been on battleground states that could determine control of the House of Representatives.
Battleground States & Early Signs
Michigan: A group of right-wing activists has obtained about 150,000 absentee ballots and envelopes from Detroit’s 2020 election and is building its own database to hunt for supposed irregularities. Volunteers have openly said they are looking for “parallels” with Fulton County, the Georgia election center that was later targeted by the FBI.
Pennsylvania: The leader of a network that promoted false fraud claims about the 2020 election, Heather Honey, now holds a senior federal role overseeing election integrity at the Department of Homeland Security. At the same time, Trump has revived baseless accusations of corruption against Philadelphia, which local officials warn is fueling fear among voters.
North Carolina: Republican lawmakers used a hurricane relief bill to strip the governor of control over state and county election boards and transfer that authority to the Republican state auditor. The newly structured boards have already removed polling locations at universities including North Carolina A&T, a historically Black institution.
Arizona: Maricopa County Recorder Justin Heap has embraced election-denial rhetoric and is seeking control over early voting operations and ballot tabulation. At the same time, the FBI’s subpoena for Maricopa County election records signals that the federal investigation tied to the Fulton raid is expanding.
Election Deniers Are Rewriting Rules from the Inside
Investigative reporting from the New York Times and ProPublica reveal that a tight network of election deniers and political operatives tied to Cleta Mitchell’s Election Integrity Network (EIN) has become a central organizing hub behind Trump’s 2026 election”takeover” efforts. Many of the same figures who promoted false claims about the 2020 election now hold positions of influence inside government or are coordinating directly with officials shaping election policy.
EIN has operated as a hub linking activists, lawyers, and government officials pushing election conspiracy theories and election rule changes. They worked behind the scenes to push election rule changes through Georgia’s State Election Board that a judge later blocked as “illegal.” The “evidence” behind the FBI’s raid to seize Fulton County ballots also tracks back to the network.
In Pennsylvania, Heather Honey, a former leader with EIN, now serves as the federal government’s top election integrity official at the Department of Homeland Security.
In Arizona, Maricopa County’s Republican Recorder, Justin Heap, frequently uses right-wing “election integrity” talking points and is actively locked in a legal battle to seize control of in-person early voting and ballot tabulation from the county board of supervisors.
In Georgia, the FBI raid on Fulton County relied on a lengthy report by conservative activist Kevin Moncla, whose fraud claims had already been discredited by state investigators. Even far-right media lawyers have referred to him as a “known fabricator.”
Trump has finally found a way to get his hands on ballots. After saying he regrets not seizing voting machines in 2020, his team – linked up by EIN – is now on a test run. They’re probing whether election lies can be spun into ‘evidence’ they need to interfere in the midterms and seize ballots.
But it isn’t happening in a vacuum. Democracy Docket reports blue state election chiefs have for been meeting privately for months to engage in preparation and planning exercises – “gaming out their response to expected election interference” the Trump regime.
Stay informed, spread the word, and make sure you’re ready to vote.
Fair Fight Team
There is a certain tone-deafness in the election denier network. Yes, this is mostly psychological warfare, setting up a chorus of braying "fraud" if Republicans lose. If it discourages Democrats from voting because "what does it matter?" all the better. But, given how Democrats have been energized as Trump's excesses have increased, how their determination has become fierce, how millions turn out for the No Kings Days, even in deep red cities and towns, this ridiculous crusade, this blatant misuse of the FBI, is more likely to make Democrats fight harder, not retreat. Democrats may have underestimated the threat from the far-right in 2024, but the far-right seems to be seriously underestimating our resolve now.
How can you claim there was no irregularities? The biggest 2 irregularities are #1) There was an extra 30 millions votes cast in 2020, do you really believe that more people voted for Biden than Obama? This old white racist, got 30 million more votes than Obama??? #2) In the middle of the night, Biden suddenly got 95% of the votes cast? The news agencies didn’t call a winner, for the first time in forever? Ya right, and Pres Trump isn’t trying to take over elections, they want State issued ID’s to be required to vote. Tell me how that’s wrong? Tell me how that’s racist? This is what the vast Majority of the American People want, Democrats and Republicans alike. The only people who are fighting this, are on the democrat’s, why? Pres Trump also wants to make Election Day a national holiday, so that everybody can vote, doesn’t sound like he’s trying to takeover. And on a final note, read the Constitution, the elections are administered by the state’s, but the Federal Gov’t make rules the state must follow during Federal Elections. That the law. Stop listening to the bologna. One more thing, look into the 2nd Russian Revolution, in Oct. 1917, and look at what happened to everyone who helped the Communists to take over. Here’s a hint, it didn’t matter if you were in Lenin’s inner circle or were a loyal follower, the first people killed, were the “Useful Idiots” that helped them, like Lenin said, they know to much, so they had to go. The students that actually overthrew The Czar in April, were the first to be murdered. Wake up,