Blanche Leaves Open DOJ Election Certification Intervention

The Trump administration's efforts to scrutinize voter eligibility have raised questions about federal intervention in state election procedures ahead of the November 3, 2026, midterm elections. Attorney General Todd Blanche said Thursday that the Department of Justice could consider legal action affecting election certification under extraordinary circumstances, while maintaining that the department does not intend to interfere improperly with elections.

The remarks came as the Justice Department considers additional lawsuits against states that automatically distribute mail ballots to registered voters. According to NBC News, the department is examining potential cases after suing California to require officials to review approximately 18,000 registered voters suspected by federal authorities of being noncitizens.

California conducts elections entirely by mail, as do Colorado, Hawaii, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Vermont and Washington state, along with Washington, D.C. The dispute has intensified concerns about whether federal litigation could disrupt ballot processing or delay the certification of election results.

Blanche addressed the issue in Norfolk, Virginia, where he and FBI Director Kash Patel attended a news conference announcing racketeering charges against an 82-year-old Virginia state senator. Blanche rejected the suggestion that disrupting election certification was the department's objective.

“It is not DOJ’s intention to, and it’s never our intention to, improperly interfere with elections or the state confirmation process or certification process,” Blanche told reporters.

However, he declined to categorically exclude federal action in an exceptional situation, describing a hypothetical possibility as a “doomsday” scenario.

“To say that there’s no circumstances that we would ever do that .... of course, I’m not going to say that,” Blanche said. “But am I planning my days around the election to be somewhere to not certify? Of course not.”

Earlier Thursday, Blanche defended the department's litigation strategy as an effort to address questions about voter eligibility rather than undermine election administration.

“not trying to create chaos,” Blanche said, describing the department's approach to alerting officials to potential problems.

He also rejected the idea that the department was seeking to prevent states from finalizing results, emphasizing the administration's stated objective of restricting voting to eligible citizens.

“I’m not trying to not have an election certified. Of course not,” Blanche said.

“What we’re trying to do is guarantee to the American people that the only people that are voting are people that are eligible to vote,” he added.

The legal campaign has faced scrutiny over the accuracy of federal voter records. According to Democracy Docket, Los Angeles County reviewed a sample of records cited in the California case and found that nearly half involved canceled or inactive registrations, more than 70% had no voting history, and roughly one in four listed a birthplace in the United States.

Nevada officials also challenged an earlier federal effort to identify potential noncitizen voters. The Trump administration initially identified nearly 16,000 Nevada voters as potential noncitizens, but the Department of Homeland Security later reduced the number to 185. State officials said records showed that all 185 were citizens.

Democrats warned that the administration's actions could threaten election integrity. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said Senate Democrats had been preparing for potential federal intervention for months.

“As Trump and his cronies attempt to steal this election, we are fighting them at every turn,” Schumer posted on X. “Our elections must always belong to the voters — not Donald Trump.”

Under the US election system, state and local officials administer elections and certify results. Federal law primarily authorizes the Justice Department to protect voting rights and prosecute violations of election law; the legal authority to challenge ballots or delay certification remains a central issue in the emerging dispute.