Try and Stop Us Digest — September 21, 2026

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DOJ And DHS Try To Tighten Their Grip On Election Enforcement

A top DOJ official warned prosecutors they could lose their jobs for declining to pursue voter fraud cases. MS NOW: Aakash Singh, the DOJ's No. 3 official, told supervisors on a weekly call that prosecutors must pursue any election fraud case the FBI or DHS brings them, or risk termination. Former DOJ prosecutor Ryan Crosswell: "If true, this is outrageous... it is the prosecutor... that has to make this decision."

A coalition of civil rights groups and labor unions sued the Trump administration Friday, arguing its threats to send armed agents to polling places amount to illegal voter intimidation. New York Times: The NAACP and SEIU-backed suit invokes Section 11(b) of the Voting Rights Act — the part the Supreme Court's gutting of the law didn't touch — arguing voters need only reasonably fear harassment, not prove it. It's the second such suit; Denver and Latino civil rights groups filed a similar one last week. DHS Secretary Mullin has said agents would only show up for "a threat to that polling place... or we're serving a warrant."

Senate Democrats formally asked the DHS inspector general to investigate whistleblower allegations that agents illegally accessed state voter data. Democracy Docket: The senators want the IG to immediately open an investigation and use "every tool at your disposal" to halt the searches while it's pending. DOJ has already partially confirmed the underlying claim, telling a federal court agents used Social Security data to check state voter records. Schumer and Padilla: the initiative "plainly appears to be a political exercise that poses risks to national security."

US Intelligence: Russia Is Already Trying To Sow Chaos In The Midterms

Classified U.S. assessments have found Russia has once again authorized an online influence campaign to sow doubt about the midterms. New York Times: Fake videos impersonating CNN, the BBC and the Times have targeted Jon Ossoff, Sherrod Brown, Roy Cooper and other Democrats in competitive Senate races. One deepfaked Jamie Lee Curtis video racked up 200,000 views before removal. Researchers attribute the campaign to a Kremlin-linked operation known as Operation Overload. Officials say Iran and China may also get involved, though less aggressively.

Mail Voting Is Under Strain

A new GAO report finds USPS's cost-cutting has left it missing its own lowered delivery targets as ballot-return season begins. Axios: Rural communities are bearing the brunt of the slowdown. Former postmaster Mark Jamison says treating USPS "like a business" while ignoring its role as "essential infrastructure... has caused serious damage." USPS says it's on track to meet its (already-lowered) first-class targets.

A new NBC poll found Democratic mail-voting plans have dropped from 34% to 23% since 2024, with more Democrats shifting to early in-person voting instead — a direct response to Trump's attacks on mail ballots. Axios: It's part of a broader Democratic "bank your vote" push that includes training tens of thousands of volunteers to monitor polling places for intimidation.

In The States

CALIFORNIA — Newsom signed bills aimed at blocking Trump-administration interference in California's elections. New York Times: The package of 13 bills includes a ban on seizing ballots, election records, or voting technology before an election is certified — a direct response to a Riverside County sheriff seizing 650,000 ballots last year — plus felony penalties for officials who direct workers to interfere with mail ballot delivery and a ban on arrests within 200 feet of a polling place. Newsom says the mail-ballot provision targets "illegal activity," not routine postal work. Law professor Justin Levitt: "There's a vigilante mood afoot... this acts as a little bit of a deterrent."

SOUTH DAKOTA — South Dakota's Republican secretary of state is urging voters to pick her Democratic would-be successor over the election-denying Republican who beat her in the GOP convention. Politico: South Dakota Secretary of State Monae Johnson endorsed Democrat Terrence Davis over Republican Heather Baxter, saying the "integrity, stability, and professionalism" of the secretary of state's office is at stake Johnson warned that Baxter’s hand counting push threatens election administration.

WISCONSIN — Republican gubernatorial candidate Tom Tiffany told supporters DOJ will have federal monitors on the ground in Wisconsin for the midterms . Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Tiffany told a campaign event that DOJ was sending officials "to make sure that we have election integrity," but when pressed for specifics, his campaign could only point to a national plan for 1,000 federal monitors, with no numbers or details specific to Wisconsin. The claim follows FBI Director Kash Patel telling Senate Judiciary Democrats two days earlier that "election crime coordinators" would be stationed at every FBI field office, though armed federal officers are not legally allowed at polling places under state and federal law.

Headlines

AP: Voting groups sound alarm on funding shortfalls that they say could affect midterm turnout

Bloomberg: Midterm Voting Starts in Key States With Election 45 Days Out

New York Times: Trump’s Census Proposal Could Cut House Seats From Red States