Trump's Justice Department Breaks With Decades of Tradition to Intervene in the Midterms: Courts Have Rejected Its California and Alaska Moves
For generations the department stayed out of election fights until votes were counted. This year it sued before Election Day in two states - and lost in both courts.
President Donald Trump's Justice Department has shown a willingness to intervene directly in Tuesday's midterm elections, breaking with decades of practice meant to avoid the appearance that its law enforcement powers are being used to benefit a political party or candidate, Reuters reported on Monday. In California, the department sought to set aside mail-in ballots from about 20,000 voters it alleges are likely noncitizens ineligible to vote, and demanded records in a related criminal probe. California has said it has implemented measures to prevent voting by noncitizens and argued the department does not have the authority to block votes.
In Alaska, the department intensified a criminal investigation into whether a Senate candidate with the same name as Republican incumbent Dan Sullivan entered the race to confuse voters. It also sought to block certification if Sullivan narrowly loses, but US District Judge Sharon Gleason in Anchorage dismissed that lawsuit on Sunday, finding Alaska could not conduct such a probe while preserving the secrecy of ballots. Courts have now rejected the department's lawsuits against both states, Reuters reported, and the department has appealed the Alaska decision. The Justice Department lawsuit in Alaska, which Trump said he directed the department to file, followed a New York Times report that Democrat Mary Peltola's campaign was involved in recruiting retired teacher Daniel J. Sullivan to challenge the incumbent; Peltola's campaign said it had no involvement with either Sullivan campaign, and Daniel J. Sullivan denies trying to mislead voters.
Critics say the department's posture could accelerate any attempt by Trump to sow doubt about the midterms, which will decide control of Congress and dozens of governors' races. Mark Blumberg, who previously led the Justice Department's election response to civil rights threats and has since founded the Rule of Law Project, told Reuters it appears the administration wants the department to have an impact that was previously prohibited. Attorney General Todd Blanche says the department's efforts are lawful and aim to protect the integrity of the vote. A department spokesperson, Kiersten Pels, said the department isn't helping any campaign - it's enforcing the law.
The shift is also structural, Reuters reported. The department has traditionally proceeded cautiously in election investigations because its involvement can cause uncertainty or be exploited by candidates; its Public Integrity Section, staffed with career election-law experts, often advised agents and prosecutors to wait until results were certified before intervening. The Trump administration has slashed the size of that unit and suspended a requirement that federal prosecutors consult it on election-corruption probes, and unresolved issues will instead be decided by Trump political appointees, according to three people familiar with the conversations. Historically, Justice Department election interventions focused on enforcing federal laws meant to ensure racial minorities or vulnerable populations could vote without impediment. The department also plans to deploy about 1,000 monitors nationwide on Election Day, roughly triple the number used in the last midterms. Texas voters cast their ballots Tuesday under that same national backdrop, with the department's role in the count now itself a campaign issue.
