Local election officials fear retribution ahead of fall midterms

Local election officials are expressing grave concerns about federal interference into their work, as the fall midterms kick into high gear and experts fret over President Donald Trump’s push to assert greater control over voting.

Fifty percent of local election officials are either somewhat or very worried about political leaders interfering with their work, according to a survey by the Brennan Center for Justice published on Monday, with just 28 percent saying they have no concerns about the prospect. And 45 percent of respondents expressed concern with being targeted by politically motivated investigations.

The numbers aren’t all that surprising, said Lawrence Norden, the Brennan Center’s vice president of elections and government.

“I think since at least 2020, when you had threats against election officials reach unprecedented levels and a lot of controversy around being able to address Covid and of course, Jan. 6 — after that, I think this is just a reality that election officials have been living with,” he said. “So unfortunately, I’m not really surprised by those numbers.”




https://www.politico.com/news/2026/04/13/local-election-interference-midterms-00868234