Bipartisan Former Election Officials Warn that Trump Administration’s Demands Ahead of 2026 Midterms Risk Intimidating Election Officials and Disenfranchising Eligible Voters

SAN FRANCISCO — A bipartisan group of 18 former election officials from key states, represented by States United, today filed an amicus brief in SEIU v. DOJ, a case before the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit regarding the Trump administration’s recent demands and threats of criminal prosecution against election officials. The brief explains how these demands—in the midst of an ongoing election—are unprecedented, intimidate officials, seek to upend existing procedures, and risk disenfranchising eligible voters.

“State and local election officials are the people who make our democracy work. They will ensure every eligible voters’ voice is heard in this year’s midterms. But they should be able to do this work without threats, political intimidation, or federal interference,” said Mai Ratakonda, an Election Protection Program Director at the States United Democracy Center. “What we’re seeing from the Trump administration right now is not normal. It’s part of a broader effort to undermine trust in our election process so they can cast doubt on, challenge, or interfere with any results they don’t like.”

The brief highlights the Trump Administration’s pressure campaign against state and local election officials and a pattern of undermining trust in our elections. It calls on the Ninth Circuit to protect election officials from the federal government’s unwarranted pressures and intimidation, which put election administration at risk and could disenfranchise eligible voters in this year’s midterm election.

“Federal officials have historically worked alongside state and local election officials to enforce election laws—not threatened them with prosecution simply for doing their jobs,” said Samantha Trepel, Rule of Law Program Director at the States United Democracy Center. “Just days before voters head to the polls, the Trump administration is using the threat of criminal prosecution to pressure election officials to change how they run elections. States run elections in this country. These actions have no place in our democracy.”

Key excerpts from the brief:

“This campaign—during which the federal government has provided no evidence of widespread error or wrongdoing by election officials—has led to an unprecedented uptick in harassment and threats against election workers at the most critical and busiest time of the election cycle. What is more, federal and state law prohibit the changes that federal officials demand, placing election workers in a bind between potentially violating state and federal law or facing the prosecutorial power of the federal government. We therefore urge the Court to ensure the federal government does not pressure election officials into departing from settled procedures in the midst of an election, based on fears of threats and prosecution.”

…

“The increased federal pressure and threats on election officials that precipitated this case are part of a pattern by the administration of attempting to assert authority over elections and questioning the integrity of state and local officials. In our collective experience as election officials, we have never seen such a concerted fixation by the federal government on election workers through letters, subpoenas, press conferences, and social media posts, threatening them with imprisonment if they do not accede to certain demands. Through our contacts with those who still are on the front lines, we know these threats create an environment of fear and extreme concern.”

…

“The pattern we see today … creates an unacceptable risk that election officials will cave to constant pressures to abandon governing procedures, yield to the administration’s demands, and possibly disenfranchise eligible voters.”

Signatories of the brief include:

• Pam Anderson, former City Clerk of Wheat Ridge, CO, and Jefferson County, CO, Clerk and Recorder
• Tina Barton, former City Clerk of Rochester Hills, MI
• Karen Brinson Bell, former Executive Director of the NC State Board of Elections
• Kathy Boockvar, former PA Secretary of the Commonwealth
• Mary Estill Buchanan, former CO Secretary of State
• Edgardo Cortés, former VA Commissioner of Elections and Head of the Dept. of Elections
• Joan Growe, former MN Secretary of State
• Phil Keisling, former OR Secretary of State
• Edward Lindsey, former GA State Election Board member and Fulton County Election Board member
• Patty Hansen, former Recorder of Coconino County, AZ,
• Kathy H. Holland, former Director of the Alamance County Board of Elections and President of the NC Association of Election Directors
• Ryan Macias, former voting system staff for CA Secretary of State and Acting Director of the Voting Systems Testing and Certification Program at the United States Election Assistance Commission
• Jennifer Morrell, CEO and co-founder of The Elections Group
• Tammy Patrick, former Federal Compliance Officer of Maricopa County, AZ
• Chris Piper, former Commissioner of the VA Department of Elections
• Miles Rapoport, former Connecticut Secretary of State
• Kathy Rogers, former GA State Elections Director
• William Senning, former VT Director of Elections

Read a summary of the amicus brief here. Learn more about public opinion on federal interference in elections here.

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About the States United Democracy Center

States United is a nonpartisan 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to the rule of law and free, fair, secure elections. We provide direct support to state officials and law enforcement leaders as they uphold the law and our system of checks and balances, protect public safety, defend elections, and preserve our democracy. For more information, visit statesunited.org.