Recent actions by the Donald Trump administration and its allies have raised serious concerns about potential interference in the upcoming 2026 midterm elections. These efforts include attempts to gather voter data and inspect voting equipment across multiple states.
According to MSNBC, President Donald Trump has openly expressed his intention to use executive power to benefit Republican candidates. He recently urged Texas to redraw its voting districts in a way that would create five additional Republican-friendly areas for next year’s elections, as part of his broader political strategy for maintaining power.
The Trump administration and its allies have launched what officials call a “multipronged effort to gather data on voters and inspect voting equipment,” causing worry among local and state election officials about federal interference ahead of the 2026 midterms.
Former Trump aide seeks access to voting machines
Jeff Small, a pro-Trump consultant and former chief of staff to Representative Lauren Boebert, has been reaching out to county election officials. Small, who claims to be working with the White House, has requested permission for federal authorities to physically examine election equipment. This move has faced strong opposition from Republican clerks in Colorado, who view such requests as inappropriate, reflecting broader Republican concerns about Trump’s election tactics.
> News article: For months, he had watched Donald Trump’s administration unleash a multipronged attack on academia – slashing funding
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The situation in Colorado is particularly sensitive, as it was a major battleground for efforts to challenge Trump’s 2020 election loss to Joe Biden. The Trump administration has shown support for Tina Peters, a convicted Mesa County Clerk who became a central figure in these election challenges.
In a parallel development, the Justice Department has requested voter roll copies from at least nine states. While federal law allows the department to ensure states have proper procedures for maintaining voter rolls and removing ineligible voters, it does not specifically authorize the department to review the actual voter rolls themselves.
These actions have sparked concerns among election officials and observers, particularly given Trump’s history of making false claims about voting machines and illegal voters in the 2020 election. There are worries that any information gathered could be used to promote election conspiracies or pressure states into changing their election systems. The unprecedented nature of these efforts has caused concern even among some Republican officials.
