Try and Stop Us Digest — July 13, 2026

MS Now: Two Atlanta-based FBI intelligence analysts were fired last week after refusing to participate in the Trump administration's investigation of Georgia's 2020 presidential election, three people familiar with the matter said. The analysts told colleagues they did not believe the investigation was justified under FBI and Justice Department policies and were escorted out of their office. FBI Director Kash Patel has directed about 260 intelligence analysts nationwide to devote time to what a memo called a “priority investigation” in Atlanta — each required to make 708 record checks by July 17.

Reuters: The White House spent months looking for ways to bypass the Election Assistance Commission before Trump fired its leaders, four people familiar with the matter said. Officials reviewed a recommendation to declare a national emergency and create a federal task force that could compel states to address voting-system vulnerabilities — without going through the EAC at all — while others wanted it to add a proof-of-citizenship requirement to the national mail voter registration form.

CNN: Democrats are sounding the alarm about the breadth of Trump's efforts to shape November's elections — from EAC firings to redistricting to executive orders on mail-in voting to the SAVE Act. Issue One's Michael McNulty warns the effort amounts to a “slow-moving election takeover playbook” that everyone should be on guard against.

USA Today: Voting rights advocates warn that Trump's escalating efforts to consolidate federal control over elections represent an unprecedented assault on the constitutional framework that gives states authority over their own elections. “Every American — regardless of political party — should be horrified at yet another blatant effort by President Trump to eradicate every safeguard of free and fair elections,” said Rep. Daniel Goldman.

Washington Post: One federal judge blocked states from using an expanded federal citizenship database to scrub voter rolls; another ordered that four Republican-led states must have access to it. The dueling orders left DHS officials with two sets of contradictory instructions and election administrators with no clear guidance as they barrel toward November.

New York Times: The elected Republicans who run Maricopa County — the nation's second-largest voting jurisdiction — say recorder Justin Heap, an election skeptic backed by Trump and Turning Point USA, is seeking near-total control over elections and creating a pretext to challenge results this fall. “This is an assault on our democratic norms,” said supervisor Tom Galvin. Heap's changes to signature verification have already nearly tripled ballot rejection rates, and the state Supreme Court handed him another victory last week.

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: An audit of all 1.11 million ballots cast in June's runoffs found just 23 discrepancies — every one involving hand-marked paper ballots. None of the 1,079,408 ballots completed on Georgia's touchscreen devices showed a discrepancy. “Human beings make human errors,” Raffensperger said, as lawmakers prepare to reopen the debate over the state's voting system.

Salt Lake Tribune: The DOJ told Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson — a Republican — that she “could be subject to criminal liability” if noncitizens cast ballots. The threat came as she fights a DOJ lawsuit seeking Utah's entire unredacted voter database. Her May audit found 99.72% of records were verifiable U.S. citizens — 27 alleged noncitizens out of more than 2 million. “This is truly bizarre behavior by the federal agency that is supposed to be protecting civil rights,” she wrote.

Washington Post: Trump keeps pushing a voting bill that could backfire on Republicans

Democracy Docket: Trump DOJ to target Democratic strongholds for election monitoring: “The more eyes on elections, the better”

New Jersey Monitor: RNC files eighth lawsuit targeting overseas voters, this time in New Jersey