
State election officials got an unusual invitation from the Trump administration last week: a late February call about midterm preparations organized by the FBI. Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content. The surprise email came at a tense moment. The Justice Department has sued dozens of states for unredacted voter rolls, the FBI raided an Atlanta-area elections office, and President Donald Trump has called for nationalizing at least some elections.
Main Idea: State election officials say the Trump administration has offered little help on election security, even as the Justice Department sues states over voter rolls and the FBI steps in with a late briefing call.
Key Points:
Reduced federal help and disputes over voter rolls could make election security weaker, raising the risk of confusion, hacked systems, and lower trust for voters.
State officials may build stronger local defenses and less depend on federal support if they can replace missing tools and briefings.
Rate how each entity in this article affected the American people.
Central federal agency taking concrete action by suing states over unredacted voter rolls.
Central agency organizing the election-security briefing and raiding an elections office, both major actions in the story.
Central political actor whose administration’s absence on election security and election-related actions are the core subject of the.
Named state official discussing how the loss of federal tools has affected election security.
Named state official describing her state’s replacement threat-monitoring efforts and remaining gaps.
Key federal agency whose defunding and reduced role in election security is a major focus.
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Sign in to commentFederal department tied to the election-security infrastructure and funding cuts discussed in the article.
Named state official quoted on the impact of dismantled federal election-security support and state safeguards.
Named state official commenting on the administration’s outreach and election-security concerns.
Named official quoted on disinformation briefings and lack of recent federal contact, but in a supporting role.
Named official quoted on prior federal partnership and lack of current briefings, but not the main focus.
Trade association central to the conference where federal participation and state concerns are discussed.