The Trump administration is waging an aggressive campaign to restrict voting rights through justice department lawsuits, FBI investigations, and an executive order limiting mail-in voting, according to election experts and former officials. The moves mirror President Donald Trump's baseless claims that he lost the 2020 election due to widespread fraud.
Numerous 2020 election denialists have been installed in key agencies, including the Department of Justice and the FBI, to pursue discredited fraud allegations that could intimidate election workers and voters in swing states. The justice department has filed lawsuits seeking sensitive voter data from 30 states, despite laws granting states control over elections, and the FBI has launched investigations into debunked fraud claims in Georgia, Wisconsin, and other states Trump lost in 2020.
In late March, Trump issued an executive order tightening mail-in voting rules, giving the US Postal Service unprecedented powers to make voting by mail harder. The order has sparked lawsuits from 23 Democratic states and Washington DC, who argue it unconstitutionally interferes with state election administration.
Former federal officials have sharply criticised the administration's moves. Eileen O'Connor, a senior counsel at the Brennan Center and former justice department lawyer, said: 'The Department of Justice has no authority to sweep up the voter rolls... from every state in the nation.' She noted that the DoJ has lost all eight court rulings so far in its lawsuits against states.
Larry Noble, a former Federal Election Commission general counsel, added: 'Trump continues to falsely claim that voting by foreign nationals... and mail-in voting resulted in a fraudulent election in 2020... However, numerous audits and lawsuits have failed to find any meaningful fraud.'
The crackdown comes as Trump and Republicans fear Democratic gains in the November midterm elections could limit Trump's power and lead to impeachment. At a January retreat, Trump told lawmakers: 'You gotta win the midterms, because if we don't win the midterms... they'll find a reason to impeach me.'
