> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://libertys-lens.ghost.io/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # What If They Try to Steal the Midterms? - URL: https://libertys-lens.ghost.io/what-if-they-try-to-steal-the-midterms/ - Published: 2026-10-26T22:36:19.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-26T22:36:19.000Z - Author: Graham Baughman Some of the warning signs are already here. So are the plans to stop them. [Buy me a coffee!](https://donate.stripe.com/5kQ5kF0iLfTD2ihcPxeIw02?ref=libertys-lens.ghost.io) *The danger is not only what the Trump administration might attempt after Election Day. It is what federal agencies are already testing before the votes are counted.* # What They Have Already Done The federal government initially alleged that nearly 16,000 noncitizens were improperly registered in Nevada. In court, that number fell to 185\. Nevada investigated those 185 people. The number ultimately found improperly registered was zero. That progression matters for more than its numerical collapse. In California, the Justice Department has sued over more than 20,000 registered voters it calls likely noncitizens and asked that their mail ballots be set aside. DOJ says federal agencies used voter records and immigration data; California argues that the list is unverified and should not be used to withhold ballots. [The government’s own announcement](https://www.justice.gov/usao-cdca/pr/united-states-sues-california-after-determining-more-20000-likely-noncitizens-are?ref=libertys-lens.ghost.io) confirms that it wants California to remove suspected voters or sequester their ballots while the review remains contested. The deeper problem is the evidentiary standard. The government is not merely asking states to investigate. In the litigation described in the underlying transcript, federal officials acknowledged that they could investigate individual cases but argued that doing so would be impracticable. Instead, states are being asked to trust a federal assessment without proof, voter by voter, that each person is ineligible. Nevada demonstrates why that demand is so dangerous. Had the state accepted the original federal assertion, eligible voters could have lost a fundamental right on claims that ultimately produced no improperly registered voters. Replicate that approach across several closely divided states and flawed federal data can become a mechanism for excluding lawful voters or lawful ballots. The pattern extends beyond voter lists. Federal investigators have seized original 2020 ballots from Fulton County, Georgia. The administration has also pursued litigation over certification in Alaska under a scenario involving two legally qualified candidates named Dan Sullivan. Each case is different, but together they test how far federal power can reach into elections administered by the states. --- ## Please, just a moment of your time... **Liberty’s Lens is entirely reader‑supported.** We don’t answer to corporate masters deciding what we say or what we cover. If you find our work valuable, please consider upgrading to a paid subscription. You can take **20% off with** [**this coupon**](https://libertys-lens.ghost.io/flash-sale-annual) — and support independent media for about the price of a coffee per month. [20% Off an Annual Plan!](https://libertys-lens.ghost.io/flash-sale-annual) [Or 20% Off a Monthly Plan!](https://libertys-lens.ghost.io/flashsale-monthly) If you've been thinking about upgrading to paid to support the work of Liberty's Lens, now is the time. Upgrade and save. If a subscription isn't in the budget right now, a one time contribution, any amount, is always appreciated. [Tip Jar - Select Any Amount](https://donate.stripe.com/5kQ5kF0iLfTD2ihcPxeIw02?ref=libertys-lens.ghost.io) Thank you to every reader who shares our work and helps it reach new audiences. We couldn’t do this without you. We love you all. --- # When Immigration Enforcement Meets Voting DHS has launched an initiative seeking suspected noncitizen voters, while DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin [stated in September](https://www.politico.com/news/2026/09/01/mullin-says-dhs-could-deploy-to-polling-sites-for-specific-threats-arrests-01060040?ref=libertys-lens.ghost.io) that ICE could be at polling sites to respond to "specific" threats or execute active warrants. **So, fears about immigration enforcement appearing around voting aren't purely hypothetical.** And the risk isn't limited to undocumented immigrants or mistakes in voter databases: American citizens have already been swept into immigration enforcement. [George Retes](https://www.kqed.org/news/12073728/us-citizen-army-veteran-detained-by-ice-sues-for-damages-in-federal-court?ref=libertys-lens.ghost.io), a U.S. citizen and Army veteran, alleges that federal agents detained him during a 2025 California raid, held him for three days, never brought him before a judge, and released him without charges. [Leonardo Garcia Venegas](https://news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/ice-apprehension-of-us-citizens-derided-as-kavanaugh-stops?ref=libertys-lens.ghost.io), another citizen, alleges that agents detained him twice at Alabama construction sites even after he identified himself as an American. [Sign up!](#/portal/signup) Those cases carry added weight after the Supreme Court stayed a lower-court restriction on immigration stops in the Los Angeles area. Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote separately that apparent ethnicity cannot establish reasonable suspicion by itself but may be considered with factors such as location and occupation. Critics have labeled encounters under this framework “Kavanaugh Stops.” Now place that enforcement environment near voting communities. A citizen who speaks Spanish or belongs to an ethnic community associated with immigration enforcement does not have to imagine whether an American can be detained. The practical question, now that DHS has explicitly left open circumstances in which ICE could enter a polling site, becomes: Do I want to risk finding out? A government does not have to formally bar someone from voting if exercising the right begins to feel personally dangerous. The chilling effect is not politically neutral. [NBC News/Telemundo polling](https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2026-election/poll-latino-voters-swing-away-trump-republicans-midterm-shift-rcna599894?ref=libertys-lens.ghost.io) found Trump at 27% approval among Latino voters, two-thirds saying his deportation policies had gone too far, and Democrats leading 59% to 35% on congressional preference. [The Texas Tribune](https://www.texastribune.org/2026/10/22/south-texas-latino-voters-rio-grande-valley-2026-election/?ref=libertys-lens.ghost.io) reports that anger over mass deportation is helping drive a leftward shift in South Texas. That does not prove immigration activity near polling places is intended to suppress Democratic votes. It does explain why the danger deserves scrutiny: the communities most exposed to enforcement increasingly include voters moving against the administration. [Upgrade!](#/portal/account/plans) # What Could Come Next Senior officials have left open possibilities that should be easy to close. Attorney General Todd Blanche has declined to categorically rule out DOJ involvement in state certification disputes. FBI Director Kash Patel has said election-crimes coordinators in all 56 field offices will be **“there and manning the post”** for election-interference matters, without providing an unequivocal assurance that agents will remain away from polling locations. The FBI can investigate actual election crimes. That is different from armed federal personnel appearing near polling places without a legitimate investigative predicate. Democracy advocates are therefore preparing for ballots being challenged or segregated, already-cast ballots being seized, federal agents intimidating voters, officials refusing certification, and routine counting delays being portrayed as fraud. More extreme possibilities, including emergency or military authorities, remain contingencies rather than announced plans. Keeping the categories separate is essential: there are actions already taken, doors officials have conspicuously left open, and scenarios advocates are planning for because the cost of being unprepared is too high. [Share!](#/share) # The Response Is Already Being Built Democratic officials, election lawyers, and civil-society organizations [report](https://crooked.com/podcast/stopping-the-steal-with-eric-holder/?ref=libertys-lens.ghost.io) conducting tabletop exercises around potential election interference. The scenarios include ballot seizures, law-enforcement activity around voting, certification disputes, and efforts to exploit uncertainty while results are still being counted. Legal teams have prepared adaptable filings so challenges can be brought quickly in the relevant jurisdiction. Speed matters: election litigation cannot follow an ordinary calendar. The strategy anticipates immediate filings, expedited hearings, and rapid appeals in both federal and state courts. If an official refuses a legally required certification duty, courts can issue a writ of mandamus compelling that official to act. The information strategy is equally important: prebunk rather than merely debunk. Tell voters before Election Day that some states count slowly. Explain why lawful totals change as ballots arrive and are processed. An incomplete count is not a suspicious count. Preparing audiences in advance denies misinformation the advantage of surprise. Courts are only part of the defense. Peaceful protest, journalism, organized advocacy, and political pressure can operate alongside litigation. Voters can make concrete plans: know when and where to vote, understand early-voting rules, use official ballot-return locations, and learn who administers elections locally. # Don't Panic. Prepare. Warnings must not persuade people that voting is futile. Large turnout and decisive margins make an outcome harder to overturn or delegitimize. The choice is not between complacency and panic. It is between being surprised and being prepared. The administration has already tested the boundaries. It may test them further. Courts still matter. State and local officials matter. Peaceful civic pressure matters. Most of all, voters still matter. ***They may try things. This time, people are preparing before it happens.*** --- [](https://www.usnews.com/news/politics/articles/2026-10-07/dnc-sues-trump-administration-alleging-taxpayer-funded-ads-violate-propaganda-law?ref=libertys-lens.ghost.io) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/da/86/da86ac05-de21-4736-8a14-89823a268247/content/images/2026/08/c7a610d4-c0cf-48d7-a0d9-6902957a8e8e_1536x1024.png) The Trump regime’s authoritarian project depends on misinformation and disinformation. It thrives in darkness and resists scrutiny. That’s why exposure matters — and why independent media does too. A free society depends on a free press. 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