Trump Has Tried to Exert More Control Over Elections. Here Are the Key Findings From Our Reporting.

Ahead of next week’s midterm elections, President Donald Trump has actually methodically destroyed institutional guardrails that avoided him from reversing the 2020 governmental election, ProPublica’s reporting has actually revealed.

Trump has actually empowered his patriots to attempt to change the ballot procedure. He introduced an extraordinary– and mostly not successful– effort to discover noncitizen citizens. And he attempted to limit mail-in ballot.

Our press reporters have actually invested much of this year covering Trump’s efforts to apply more federal control over elections. Here are 5 takeaways from their reporting.

1. The Trump administration has actually looked for higher federal control over elections.

In April, Doug Bock Clark and Jen Fifield reported on Trump’s efforts to “take control of” the midterm elections, detailing how the administration has actually disposed of or decreased undertakings throughout the federal government to safeguard the ballot procedure or obstruct foreign disturbance. Those efforts have actually consisted of cutting personnel on election-related groups at federal police and discovering methods to put in higher federal control over ballot.

Our reporting led by Peter Elkind exposed that the Trump administration utilized Homeland Security Investigations’ workers, innovation and legal authority to attempt to support Trump’s unverified claim that unlawful ballot by noncitizens is tilting elections towards Democrats. Administration authorities firmly insisted the effort led by HSI was producing significant outcomes. Our analysis of Justice Department information discovered, since May, 41 declared noncitizens were charged with ballot unlawfully or other election-related criminal activities. Previously this month, CBS reported 156 individuals have actually been charged given that the start of the 2nd Trump administration.

As part of that effort, the Justice Department has actually required states turn over unredacted citizen rolls, which include secret information on countless Americans and have actually traditionally been handled by states. Because September 2025, the department has actually taken legal action against 30 states and the District of Columbia for the personal information. Careful of federal overreach, state authorities– consisting of some Republicans– have actually resisted, therefore far every DOJ suit that’s been chosen by a federal judge has actually been dismissed(The Trump administration has actually appealed the majority of its losses to federal appeals courts and has stated it will think about taking its battle to the Supreme Court. A Justice Department representative stated its “lawyers are experienced, principled supporters who argue every case truthfully and in great faith.”)

In a March executive order, Trump advised the U.S. Postal Service to develop brand-new policies for mail ballot. The guidelines would have put the Postal Service in the unmatched function of choosing whether to send out or reject the shipment of citizens’ mail-in tallies. The Supreme Court in September obstructed the guidelines, a minimum of up until after November.

The Trump administration has stated its actions will make U.S. elections fairer and more safe– and keep those forbidden from ballot, such as noncitizens, from doing so. Spokespeople for the DOJ and Department of Homeland Security highlighted that their departments are concentrated on making sure elections are totally free and reasonable, which they are working carefully with the states to attain those objectives. Contentions to the contrary, they state, are incorrect.

2. Trump has actually pressed out profession authorities– and is collaborating with a conservative grassroots company to change elections.

A minimum of 75 nonpartisan profession authorities who had actually held functions at federal firms associated with election stability and security have actually been fired or left the federal government.

2 lots Trump appointees– consisting of numerous from the election-denial motion– have actually been employed. Ahead of the midterms, existing and previous federal government authorities and election security specialists have actually revealed issues that once-fringe stars who’ve upheld exposed conspiracy theories about elections are now in positions to manage the story around the ballot procedure. (A DHS representative stated it employs “specialists with varied backgrounds who go through a strenuous vetting procedure.”)

A minimum of 25 administration appointees have close ties to Cleta Mitchell, an attorney who leads Election Integrity Network, a grassroots conservative group concentrated on changing America’s ballot system. This month, Clark profiled Mitchell– and in-depth how, regardless of not holding an official function in the White House, she’s played an essential function in forming the Trump administration’s elections program. The White House has actually designated her partners to assist hunt for noncitizen citizens and examine allegations of voting scams in 2020. (Mitchell decreased several demands to consult with ProPublica, however composed in an e-mail: “You’re my challenger. … You’re never ever going to compose in any goal, non-judgmental method about the election stability motion.”)

Mitchell, who contributed in assisting Trump challenge his loss in the 2020 governmental election, has actually been leading efforts to pass state and federal versions of the SAVE Act. The 2026 variation of the costs, referred to as the SAVE America Act, would need citizens across the country to supply evidence of citizenship to sign up and provide a picture ID to vote, and would oblige states to turn over their citizen rolls to DHS. Trump has actually consistently called the procedure his leading legal top priority, however it has actually been obstructed in the Senate.

In July, Trump likewise pressed out the staying members of the bipartisan Election Assistance Commission, a four-member board developed to be uniformly divided in between Republicans and Democrats that sets requirements for state ballot systems. (At the time, a White House authorities would not verify the relocations however stated the president “reserves the right to eliminate people that might not be completely lined up with the essential job of protecting America’s elections and making sure every legal vote is counted.”)

3. Trump authorities asked a cybersecurity company to covertly get a ballot maker– and hack it.

A couple of months into Trump’s 2nd term, political appointees at DHS asked its Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency to acquire a ballot device, hack it and report the findings so they might be provided to the White House, 2 previous administration authorities with understanding of the demand informed Clark and Andy Mannix.

CISA workers informed the political appointees their demand was difficult, in part due to the fact that the representatives efficient in managing such an operation had actually simply been laid off by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency. (One of Trump’s very first actions when he went back to the White House was to take apart the firm’s election security work.)

Not acted on, the demand reveals how the Trump administration has actually attempted to utilize the firm for its own ends while draining it of resources for one of its vital objectives: safeguarding the country’s ballot systems. Given that CISA ended up being a firm in 2018, it has actually pertained to supply vital assistance to countless regional election authorities facing significantly advanced attacks.

Some state election authorities stated CISA offered them with little aid as they prepared for the 2026 midterms. And other state authorities informed Clark and Mannix that they no longer relied on the firm and feared it had actually been jeopardized by the Trump administration. (A DHS representative informed us in April the “claim that DHS has a damaged collaboration with states and made our elections less protected is merely incorrect.”)

DHS did not react to concerns for our October examination, however a DHS representative formerly informed ProPublica that the modifications at CISA remained in action to “a ballooning budget plan hiding a harmful departure from its statutory objective,” that included “electioneering rather of safeguarding America’s vital facilities.” A White House representative decreased an interview demand however stated, “President Trump has actually done more than any other President to guarantee we have complimentary and reasonable elections.”

4. The White House drifted a concept that would’ve closed down practically all mail-in ballot.

The White House at first proposed a modification for the Postal Service that would’ve been much more disruptive than the guideline the Supreme Court declined in September.

As Fifield and Elkind reported, the Trump administration recommended all tallies be provided through qualified mail, indicating citizens would require to be home to sign for shipment of their tallies. The Trump administration dropped this strategy after the USPS stated it would be too tough to carry out. It rather continued with the executive order that would’ve required postal employees to work as gatekeepers, choosing which tallies would be provided and which would not.

In an emailed declaration, White House representative Lauren Bis rejected the administration had actually interfered poorly with the Postal Service, an independent company whose governance structure is particularly created to safeguard it from political impact.

The Supreme Court’s order in September implies that ballot by mail can continue as prepared for the midterms, with states delegated choose the guidelines for mail-in tallies.

5. The Postal Service’s cost-cutting procedures have actually caused hold-ups and more declined tallies in backwoods.

Amidst the increased attention on the Postal Service’s function in elections, a ProPublica analysis discovered that hold-ups arising from the company’s cost-cutting steps in the last few years have actually threatened the credibility of tallies cast in backwoods.

The Postal Service has actually combined processing of first-rate mail into local centers, and the firm cut the frequency of mail pickups in half at lots of post workplaces 50 miles or more from those processing plants. The modifications frequently included a day or more to shipment time and pressed back postmarking, a main mark verifying an envelope has actually been gotten by the Postal Service.

Throughout 5 states where the very best information was readily available– Washington, California, Ohio, North Carolina and Oregon– the hold-ups throughout this year’s main elections have actually had the most considerable impact in locations that elected Trump in 2024.

Postal Service leaders state such hold-ups are less most likely in the Nov. 3 basic election due to the fact that of “remarkable procedures” the firm puts in location for these votes, when there’s usually even more turnout.