Sending armed federal agents or troops to polling places is illegal under federal law (18 U.S.C. § 592). Federal law also protects voters from intimidation, including threats, not only acts, and state laws add another layer of protection. Individual agents who intimidate voters can face state criminal charges, which a president cannot pardon.

What we’re preparing for

A visible federal presence in communities, or talk of agents near polls, is more likely than direct interference at a polling place. But that creates a real risk that the fear of federal agents will keep some eligible voters home. Every eligible voter has the right to vote free from intimidation.

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No. The Constitution gives states and Congress the power to run federal elections and the president has no role in administering them. There are no presidential emergency powers over elections. A national emergency declaration unlocks certain powers written into specific laws, and none of them reach voter registration, ballots, polling places, counting, or certification.

What we’re preparing for

The administration could declare an emergency or issue a new executive order claiming control over some part of election administration, or use one to justify sending federal personnel near voting sites. Courts have already blocked most of the president’s earlier election orders, and past orders like this were challenged in court within days.

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Federal law gives the attorney general narrow access to election records: the right to inspect or copy certain records after an election, with a stated reason, but not to take the originals (52 U.S.C. § 20703). State officials can decline and ask a court to weigh in. States also have strict chain-of-custody rules that limit who can handle ballots, machines, and other materials.

What we’re preparing for

Law enforcement could try to seize ballots, machines, or records while the count is still under way, most likely in the first few days after polls close. That might break the chain of custody, the record of who handled each ballot and when, and could make it difficult for local and state officials to complete state-law mandated processes for counting, canvassing, and ensuring the reliability of results, and ultimately certifying the winner. State officials and courts have tools to prevent a seizure and respond quickly if one occurs to ensure that the election can still be certified.

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Election officials keep doing their jobs. Again, an investigation is not a court order, and nothing changes unless a court rules otherwise.

This threat has already manifested itself in California, where the Department of Justice has threatened to prosecute election officials who process ballots from individuals who are on a list of “suspected” non-citizens (many of whom are undoubtedly citizens and eligible to vote!). This threat came with just days to go until the election, and without the evidence that might be needed to substantiate it. It’s an effort to intimidate and interfere, and could also be grounds for lawsuits challenging results after the election (the administration has already sued California to attempt to force the state to segregate the ballots of those on the list). California officials are pushing back, but threats like these can be damaging regardless of how many voters are actually removed from the rolls.

What we’re preparing for

Federal officials could open or threaten criminal investigations of state and local election officials to pressure them into steps the law doesn’t allow. But election officials have generally been resistant to unlawful pressure. In 2020, election officials of both parties overcame intense pressure and certified the results, and groups like the Democracy Protection Network, the Election Office Legal Defense Network, and the Committee for Safe and Secure Elections support officials who do the same now.

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Counting is required by law. After polls close, officials count every valid ballot and double-check the totals in a process called the canvass. Courts have generally held that halting a count does lasting harm to voters and isn’t appropriate in ordinary election disputes.

What we’re preparing for

Someone could try to make the ordinary count look suspicious, through demands to stop counting, early claims of victory, threats, or fights over who may observe. None of that changes the law. And in most cases nothing has gone wrong at all. The process and safeguards are doing what they’re supposed to do.

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Challenges must have a real legal basis. The National Voter Registration Act bars systematic purges of the voter rolls within 90 days of a federal election, and late purges can be challenged in court. In most states, a challenge based only on a database match isn’t enough and poll workers can dismiss frivolous challenges. A database flag is not proof that someone isn’t a citizen. Federal citizenship checks have mistakenly flagged eligible citizens in at least five states.

What we’re preparing for

Large numbers of ballots or registrations could be challenged at once, through federal demands, state database matching, or filings by outside groups, using error-prone data close to Election Day. An eligible voter who is challenged at the polls can still cast a provisional ballot, which is counted once their eligibility is confirmed.

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Certification is mandatory. Legislatures made it that way so that no official could block results for politically partisan reasons. Since 2020, every county that has tried to refuse ended up certifying, with courts or state officials stepping in when they needed to.

What we’re preparing for

County or state officials could face pressure, including from the federal government, to delay or refuse certification, usually with claims of fraud as the reason. Courts can order officials to certify and state deadlines keep the process moving. Election officials who use conspiracy theories as a pretext to refuse to certify results can also face severe consequences, including removal from office and criminal prosecution.

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