How officials are preparing for Election Day disruptions — including from Trump

Stephen Maturen/Getty Images

Election officials have spent months preparing to run the 2026 vote — and bracing for what could disrupt it. They’re training workers, tightening security and readying legal challenges for threats that could stretch well beyond Election Day.

“Lately we have to take into account really horrible, worst-case scenarios, whether that is outside actors or foreign actors,” Maricopa County Supervisor Thomas Galvin said. “But the most important thing is that we have to be prepared.”

Planning for trouble is part of running elections. But this year’s preparations by state and local officials come amid a ramped-up campaign by President Donald Trump and his allies to undermine confidence in voting integrity and assert greater federal control over elections.

“Sadly, a new hazard on the list this time that’s never been on the list before is the possibility that our own federal government would try to interfere somehow, directly or indirectly,” Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon , a Democrat , told CNN.

Officials have spent months considering what that might look like : a last-minute executive order, ballot seizures, federal agents at the polls or efforts to undermine trust in the results.

Trump and his allies continue to allege widespread noncitizen voting and election fraud, including in midterm voting already underway. They have threatened to prosecute election officials who fail to secure the vote or allow noncitizens to cast ballots and have filed lawsuits to restrict the counting of disputed ballots in California and the certification of results in Alaska.

“The more this stuff comes up, and the fact that it is based on so much disinformation or half-truths, it’s incredibly frustrating,” said Matt Crane, the Executive Director of the Colorado County Clerks Association and a Republican. “We’re going to keep working our asses off to make sure the election runs well on Tuesday and that people can have confidence in the process.”

Some election leaders have prepared for the administration to potentially take even more drastic steps on or after Election Day, like disrupting polling places, confiscating ballots or election equipment, challenging the results or going after election administrators.

So far, however, Trump’s attempts to interfere have mostly played out in the courts and with letters demanding that election officials set aside certain ballots so that those who cast them could be investigated — requests administrators have been rebuffing. Early in-person voting has been underway in states across the country — in some states, for weeks — and there have been no reports of major disruptions involving the federal government.

But officials are prepared in case that changes.

Last week, Trump attacked Minnesota’s elections, as he has other states’, writing on Truth Social that a Republican candidate could lose only “if they cheat by playing games with the Ballots as they come in.”

“The Federal Government will be watching closely,” Trump wrote.

For Minnesota leaders, it only validated their concerns and preparations, which included two trips to closed-door conferences this year where they met with officials from other states to game out doomsday scenarios — and how they’d respond.

“We are sort of shadow boxing here,” Simon said. “We don’t know when or if the blow will land, and hopefully it never will. But we would be foolish not to be thinking through worst case scenario.”

Others fear the biggest threat of federal disruption could come after the midterms, fueled by challenges to the results and allegations of fraud.

“What’s the administration going to say to try to put a cloud over everything?” Crane said. “And then as all that rhetoric ratchets up over here, the concern is always that violence against election officials and our facilities increases as that disinformation increases too.”

Elijah Nouvelage/Bloomberg/Getty Images

State and local leaders have been drilling poll workers and coordinating with local police on how to respond if ICE officers or other federal agents show up at voting sites.

Wisconsin’s Elections Commission advised poll leaders to alert municipal clerks, inspect badges or warrants, document encounters and keep agents outside when possible. Cherokee County, Georgia, led by a Republican election director, added similar training for its poll workers after its Trump-aligned State Election Board asked the administration to investigate Georgia’s election systems.

Arlington County, Virginia, sued to keep armed federal officers away from its polling places. In Arizona, the voting-rights group LUCHA has trained election observers to watch for immigration agents.

Minnesota officials have spent months reassuring voters that polling places are safe and officials are ready if ICE shows up, following a major immigration enforcement surge in Minneapolis earlier this year.

Some local leaders have rehearsed an even more disruptive scenario: federal agents arriving to seize ballots or voting equipment. Boulder County, Colorado conducted trainings for election officials on what federal warrants look like and encouraged them to strategize with the county attorney’s office on how to respond. Others in the state focused on airtight chain-of-custody records so they can pinpoint what’s been taken if ballots are seized.

“This is new territory, I think, for just about everybody,” Boulder County Clerk Molly Fitzpatrick told CNN. “So, we’ve provided guidance around making sure that you always follow the law.”

For Fulton County, Georgia, that concern follows the FBI search of an election hub in January, when agents took hundreds of boxes of ballots and records from the 2020 election. County Board Chairman Robb Pitts says he still doesn’t know where the records are and is fighting to recover them. He fears another intervention on Election Day.

“Worst possible scenario: Election Day, before the votes are counted, they come in, confiscate the ballots, take them off. What do we do now?” Pitts told CNN. “People say that’s impossible. Well, what I’ve learned with this administration: the impossible is always possible. We’re prepared, though.”

The Justice Department plans to send more than 1,000 election monitors across all 50 states has opened another front. They’re federal lawyers — not law enforcement — with narrowly defined powers, but election leaders fear a DOJ reshaped under Trump could push past those limits.

Minnesota and Wyoming are among several states barring DOJ monitors from direct access to polling places. Wyoming’s Republican leaders accused two monitors of overstepping during the August primary by seeking to question voters and workers and inspect voting machines.

Colorado offered access with conditions, including an escort from the secretary of state’s office. DOJ declined and will keep its monitors outside. Meanwhile, Minnesota is sending state observers to keep tabs on their federal counterparts — effectively monitoring the monitors.

The administration says its monitors, a longstanding presence in US elections, won’t disrupt voting. Their role is to observe and document potential problems for post-election investigations and challenges.

“What’s concerning is that they are looking for something. Something no other election monitor has ever been able to find,” Ingham County, Michigan Clerk Barb Byrum told CNN.

Byrum has served in her post since 2013 and has never seen DOJ monitors in her county until this year. She said she was suspicious of their presence during the August primary – because the DOJ’s justification included incorrect claims about long lines and improper balloting in her county – but things went smoothly.

“They didn’t see anything out of the ordinary,” she added. “So why are they coming back? Well, they’re coming back, I think, to cast more doubt on the integrity of our elections.”

Elizabeth Mendez/Reuters

States have pre-drafted potential legal challenges before any confrontation occurs. Others have preemptively hired outside attorneys. They’re prepared to rush to court and get immediate relief or an injection if federal interference becomes a reality.

Nevada Secretary of State Cisco Aguilar described preparing “Mad Libs” legal filings, leaving names and jurisdictions blank so lawyers can move quickly, especially if agents come to the polls or attempt to confiscate machines or ballots.

“We made sure to have pre-drafted legal finds and a lot of legal research completed and ready to go to be able to respond in moments if something is actually occurring,” Aguilar said. “And the top two major issues was one, federal agents had polling locations, and two, the feds coming in and taking the machines and the ballots.”

Nevada is already under federal scrutiny. The Department of Homeland Security says it identified thousands of possible noncitizens registered to vote there — figures state leaders dispute.

Nevada officials have received seven grand jury subpoenas in recent months, though they declined to discuss details, citing legal constraints. Aguilar says he has been told he is under DOJ investigation.

His staff is juggling those demands with the work of running an election.

“It’s mostly having to reassure them that we will work to protect them,” he said.

DOJ issued subpoenas to California election officials and sued the state last month, alleging that roughly 20,000 possible noncitizens are on its voter rolls and may be voting in the midterms. The administration wants those ballots separated and withheld from the count until citizenship can be verified.

Crane, the Republican head of the Colorado County Clerks Association, said the local officials he works with have those subpoenas “in the back of their minds” as they try to carry out the election.

“There’s more pressure now because you know one little mistake can be amplified into a national disinformation campaign,” Crane told CNN.

Election officials are walking a delicate line heading into Election Day: preparing for the worst without making voters fear the polls.

Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes pushed back on concerns about federal action, saying he thinks fear is part of the administration’s strategy — and its threats run up against legal limits.

“The threats themselves are the voter intimidation. The idea that voters are worried means that the administration is getting what they want,” Fontes told CNN. “I don’t mean to be blithe about it, but the reality is that until something happens, it’s just an empty threat.”

Other election leaders share his concern that the administration’s promises to scrutinize the midterms could keep voters home. They stress that they have no evidence of planned Election Day disruptions that would prevent people from casting ballots.

Their preparations, they say, are a precaution — not a reason to stay away.

Still, Fontes has spent months making sure local officials understand states’ authority over elections and that local law enforcement is prepared to enforce the boundaries of federal oversight.

His message: Anyone who interferes with voters will face consequences, whether an activist or a federal agent.

“If they’re breaking the law, we’re going to prosecute them,” he said. “It’s just that simple.”

Ian Maule/AFP/Getty Images

Election officials are also preparing in case private citizens, activists or partisan observers disrupt disrupting polling places and ballot-counting sites.

Online, activists are already pushing recycled claims of rigged elections and alleged problems with ballots and voting machines. Minnesota charged two right-wing influencers, including James O’Keefe, with felony counts of unlawful voting and identity theft for a stunt they recorded at several polling places during the August primary.

Officials fear those narratives could become ammunition to challenge results or undermine public trust in the outcome.

Election offices have spent years strengthening their defenses against threats with added cameras, bullet-resistant glass and tighter access controls. In recent weeks, Georgia election workers have handled mail wearing gloves and masks after suspicious letters reached election offices and lawmakers nationwide.

In Irwin County, Georgia, poll workers are getting another piece of equipment for Election Day: panic buttons.

Stephen Maturen/Getty Images

选举官员已花费数月时间筹备2026年大选，并严阵以待应对可能出现的干扰因素。他们正在培训工作人员，加强安保措施，并准备应对可能持续到选举日之后的各种威胁。

“最近我们不得不考虑一些非常可怕的、最糟糕的情况，无论是外部势力还是外国势力，”马里科帕县监事托马斯·加尔文说。“但最重要的是，我们必须做好准备。”

为应对突发情况做好准备是选举运作的一部分。但今年州和地方官员的准备工作正值唐纳德·特朗普总统及其盟友加大力度破坏民众对投票公正性的信心、并试图加强联邦政府对选举的控制之际。

“令人遗憾的是，这次名单上出现了一个以前从未出现过的新危险，那就是我们自己的联邦政府可能会以某种方式直接或间接地进行干预，”明尼苏达州州务卿、民主党人史蒂夫·西蒙告诉 CNN。

几个月来，官员们一直在考虑这可能采取的措施：最后一刻发布行政命令、没收选票、联邦特工进驻投票站，或者试图破坏人们对选举结果的信任。

特朗普及其盟友继续声称存在大规模的非公民投票和选举舞弊，包括已经开始的中期选举。他们威胁要起诉未能确保投票安全或允许非公民投票的选举官员，并已提起诉讼，试图限制加利福尼亚州对有争议选票的计票以及阿拉斯加州对选举结果的认证。

“这类事情越多，而且大多基于虚假信息或半真半假的信息，就越令人沮丧，”科罗拉多州县书记员协会执行主任、共和党人马特·克莱恩说道。“我们将继续全力以赴，确保周二的选举顺利进行，让民众对选举过程充满信心。”

一些选举领导人已经做好准备，应对政府可能在选举日当天或之后采取的更加激烈的措施，例如扰乱投票站、没收选票或选举设备、质疑选举结果或追究选举管理人员的责任。

然而，迄今为止，特朗普的干预行为主要体现在法庭诉讼和致函选举官员，要求他们扣留某些选票以便调查投票者——但这些要求均遭到了选举官员的拒绝。全国各州的提前现场投票已经展开——在一些州甚至持续了数周——目前尚未有涉及联邦政府的重大干扰报道。

但官员们已做好准备，以应对可能出现的变化。

上周，特朗普像攻击其他州的选举一样，攻击了明尼苏达州的选举。他在 Truth Social 上写道，共和党候选人只有在“通过操纵选票作弊”的情况下才会输掉选举。

“联邦政府将密切关注，”特朗普写道。

对于明尼苏达州的领导人来说，这更加印证了他们的担忧和准备工作，其中包括今年两次参加闭门会议，与其他州的官员会面，推演末日情景以及他们将如何应对。

“我们现在有点像是在进行影子拳击练习，”西蒙说。“我们不知道打击何时会发生，也不知道它是否会发生，希望永远不会发生。但如果我们不考虑最坏的情况，那就太愚蠢了。”

另一些人则担心，联邦政府最有可能出现混乱的局面，尤其是在中期选举之后，届时可能会出现对选举结果的质疑和舞弊指控。

“政府会说什么来试图掩盖一切？”克莱恩说。“随着这边各种言论愈演愈烈，人们始终担心，随着虚假信息的泛滥，针对选举官员和我们设施的暴力事件也会增加。”

Elijah Nouvelage/Bloomberg/Getty Images

州和地方领导人一直在培训投票站工作人员，并与当地警方协调，如果移民执法局官员或其他联邦特工出现在投票站，该如何应对。

威斯康星州选举委员会建议投票站负责人通知市政书记员，检查工作人员的证件或搜查令，记录接触情况，并尽可能让执法人员在投票站外活动。佐治亚州切罗基县由一位共和党选举主任领导，在与特朗普关系密切的州选举委员会要求政府调查佐治亚州的选举系统后，该县也对其投票站工作人员进行了类似的培训。

弗吉尼亚州阿灵顿县提起诉讼，要求阻止武装联邦官员进入投票站。在亚利桑那州，投票权组织LUCHA培训了选举观察员，以监视移民执法人员。

今年早些时候，明尼阿波利斯市发生了一起大规模的移民执法行动。此后几个月，明尼苏达州官员一直在向选民保证，投票站是安全的，如果美国移民及海关执法局（ICE）出现，官员们已经做好了准备。

一些地方领导人已经演练过一种更具破坏性的情景：联邦特工前来查扣选票或投票设备。科罗拉多州博尔德县对选举官员进行了培训，讲解联邦搜查令的格式，并鼓励他们与县检察官办公室制定应对策略。该州其他地区的官员则着重加强证据链的完整性，以便在选票被查扣时能够准确查明哪些物品被取走。

“我认为这对几乎所有人来说都是全新的领域，”博尔德县书记员莫莉·菲茨帕特里克告诉CNN。“因此，我们提供了相关指导，以确保你们始终遵守法律。”

对于佐治亚州富尔顿县来说，这种担忧源于联邦调查局1月份对一个选举中心的搜查。当时，特工们带走了数百箱2020年大选的选票和记录。县委员会主席罗布·皮茨表示，他至今仍不知道这些记录的下落，正在努力追回它们。他担心选举日当天会再次发生类似事件。

“最糟糕的情况是：选举日当天，在计票之前，他们闯进来，没收选票，把它们取走。我们现在该怎么办？”皮茨告诉CNN。“人们说这不可能。但我从本届政府身上学到的是：不可能的事总是有可能发生的。不过，我们已经做好了准备。”

司法部计划向全美50个州派遣1000多名选举观察员，这开辟了新的战线。这些观察员是联邦律师，而非执法人员，他们的权力范围有限，但选举领导人担心，在特朗普领导下重组的司法部可能会突破这些限制。

明尼苏达州和怀俄明州等多个州禁止司法部监察员直接进入投票站。怀俄明州共和党领导人指责两名监察员在8月的初选期间越权，试图盘问选民和工作人员并检查投票机。

科罗拉多州有条件地同意让联邦观察员进入，包括由州务卿办公室人员护送。司法部拒绝了这一条件，并将继续派观察员在场外。与此同时，明尼苏达州派遣州级观察员监督联邦观察员的工作——实际上是在监督联邦观察员。

美国政府表示，其监督人员（他们长期以来一直参与美国大选）不会干扰投票。他们的职责是观察和记录潜在问题，以便进行选后调查和应对。

“令人担忧的是，他们似乎在寻找某些东西。一些其他选举观察员从未找到过的东西，”密歇根州英厄姆县书记员芭芭拉·拜伦告诉CNN。

拜伦自2013年起担任现职，直到今年才在她所在的县见到司法部监督员。她说，她对司法部在8月初选期间的出现心存疑虑——因为司法部给出的理由包括关于她所在县出现排长队和投票违规的错误说法——但最终一切顺利。

她补充说：“他们没发现任何异常情况。那他们为什么还要回来呢？我认为，他们回来是为了进一步质疑我们选举的公正性。”

伊丽莎白·门德斯/路透社

各州已预先拟定了可能的法律应对方案，以防冲突发生。还有一些州已先发制人地聘请了外部律师。一旦联邦政府干预成为现实，他们便准备迅速诉诸法庭，寻求即时救济或资金支持。

内华达州州务卿思科·阿吉拉尔描述了如何准备“填空式”法律文件，将姓名和管辖区留空，以便律师能够快速行动，尤其是在执法人员来到投票站或试图没收机器或选票的情况下。

阿吉拉尔说：“我们确保事先准备好法律条文，并完成大量法律研究，以便在实际发生紧急情况时能够迅速做出反应。其中两个最主要的问题是：一是联邦特工控制了投票站；二是联邦人员闯入并没收了投票机和选票。”

内华达州已受到联邦政府的审查。国土安全部称，他们发现数千名可能并非公民的人在该州登记投票——但州领导人对这一数字提出异议。

内华达州官员近几个月收到了七份大陪审团传票，但他们以法律限制为由拒绝透露详情。阿吉拉尔称，他已被告知自己正接受司法部调查。

他的团队既要应对这些需求，又要兼顾选举工作。

他说：“最重要的是要让他们放心，我们会努力保护他们。”

美国司法部上个月向加州选举官员发出传票，并起诉该州，声称该州选民名册上约有2万名可能是非公民的选民，他们可能会在中期选举中投票。政府要求将这些选票单独列出，暂不计入计票，直到核实其公民身份为止。

科罗拉多州县书记员协会的共和党主席克莱恩表示，与他共事的当地官员在努力进行选举时，都“牢记着这些传票”。

“现在压力更大了，因为你知道一个小小的错误就可能被放大成一场全国性的虚假信息宣传活动，”克莱恩告诉 CNN。

选举官员们在选举日临近之际，正小心翼翼地走钢丝：既要做好最坏的打算，又不能让选民对投票感到恐惧。

亚利桑那州州务卿阿德里安·丰特斯反驳了有关联邦行动的担忧，称他认为恐惧是政府策略的一部分——而且其威胁已经触及了法律的底线。

“这些威胁本身就是对选民的恐吓。选民的担忧意味着政府正在得逞，”丰特斯告诉CNN。“我并非轻描淡写，但现实是，在事情真正发生之前，这不过是空洞的威胁。”

其他选举负责人也和他一样担心，政府承诺严格审查中期选举可能会导致选民不去投票。他们强调，目前没有任何证据表明存在计划在选举日制造混乱，阻止民众投票。

他们表示，这些准备工作是一种预防措施，而不是让人们远离的理由。

尽管如此，丰特斯还是花了几个月的时间，确保地方官员了解各州对选举的管辖权，并确保地方执法部门做好准备，执行联邦监督的界限。

他的信息是：任何干预选民的人都将面临后果，无论是活动人士还是联邦特工。

“如果他们违法，我们就会起诉他们，”他说。“就这么简单。”

伊恩·莫尔/法新社/盖蒂图片社

选举官员也在做准备，以防私人公民、活动人士或党派观察员扰乱投票站和计票点。

在网络上，一些活动人士已经开始炒作选举舞弊和选票及投票机存在问题的陈词滥调。明尼苏达州指控两名右翼网红，其中包括詹姆斯·奥基夫，犯有非法投票和身份盗窃重罪，原因是他们在8月初选期间在多个投票站拍摄了一段视频。

官员们担心这些说法可能会成为质疑选举结果或破坏公众对选举结果信任的武器。

多年来，选举办公室一直在加强防御，以应对各种威胁，例如增设摄像头、安装防弹玻璃和加强门禁管理。最近几周，在全国各地的选举办公室和立法机构都收到可疑信件后，佐治亚州的选举工作人员在处理邮件时都戴着手套和口罩。

在佐治亚州欧文县，投票站工作人员在选举日当天又添置了一件新设备：紧急按钮。