Democracy Forward Investigation Reveals New Evidence of Federal Agencies Trying to Interfere with Elections, Urges Voters to Resist by Taking Action
October 10, 2026 - Washington, D.C. — On Friday, Democracy Forward released In the Records: Exposing and Disrupting 
Federal Attempts to Interfere in the 2026 Midterm Elections, a new report that, using government records, documents how the Trump-Vance administration is abusing the power and resources of the federal government to pursue baseless claims of widespread election fraud and assert greater control over elections — and makes clear how important it is for people to exercise their right to vote in the upcoming 2026 midterms.
The report is the product of an extensive public records investigation into the Trump-Vance administration’s attempts to weaken American democracy and hold onto their corrupt power by compromising our elections, and includes records never before published. It is an essential tool to assist the public in pushing back against this administration’s effort to undermine elections.
Since the beginning of the administration, Democracy Forward has submitted more than 700 public records requests on election issues to federal, state, and local offices across the country and obtained more than 13,000 pages of records to date. Those records shed new light on actions across the federal government, including efforts by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to investigate individual voters and obtain state voter data; the potential deployment of armed federal agents and criminal prosecutors at polling places; the expansion of the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) program for voter-roll checks; the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) efforts to obtain state voter rolls; the influence of election deniers on federal election work; and expanded Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) investigations into voters and elections.
“The records tell a deeply troubling story: the Trump-Vance administration is harnessing the power of the federal government to pursue baseless election conspiracies and interfere with how our elections are administered,” said Skye Perryman, President and CEO of Democracy Forward. “They are part of a broader effort that is clearly intended to intimidate voters, undermine public trust, and interfere with our elections, but Americans have the power to stop this malfeasance and corruption. Democracy Forward will continue to expose these efforts and continue to call on all eligible voters to check their registrations and to make a plan to vote early, by mail, or in person.”
Key findings from the report include:
- ICE is expanding “voter fraud” investigations and seeking voter data across the country. Records obtained by Democracy Forward reveal ICE Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and Office of the Principal Legal Advisor (OPLA) efforts to access voter information across multiple states, probe civic engagement nonprofits, and potentially investigate the 2020 election. The Trump-Vance administration has opened the door to armed federal agents at polling places, and sent criminal prosecutors to observe elections. After months of contradictory statements, administration officials confirmed a policy purporting to allow armed federal officers to conduct certain immigration and law-enforcement operations at polling locations despite acknowledging federal law that prohibits it.
- The administration transformed SAVE into a tool for mass voter-roll checks despite serious accuracy concerns. The records show additional evidence of the overhauled SAVE system’s deficiencies, which state officials raised to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) as these flaws impacted eligible voters.
- DOJ’s campaign for state voter rolls has intensified. New records show that even compliant states have been frustrated and left in the dark by DOJ’s effort, all while DOJ shares voter data with federal law enforcement behind closed doors.
- Election deniers are influencing federal election policy from inside and outside the Trump-Vance administration. The records detailed in the report shed new light on how individuals who have promoted false claims about prior elections have participated in federal election-related work and influenced policies affecting election administration.
- The FBI has broadened its election-related investigations. The report documents expanded FBI inquiries involving individual voters, voter-registration information, and voting machines, even as longstanding claims that fraud altered the outcome of the 2020 election remain unsupported.
Importantly, the report also documents the essential efforts to ensure free and fair elections by state officials, election administrators, advocates, and the courts. As the midterms approach, Democracy Forward will continue its public records investigations and litigation to obtain records the administration has withheld and to expose efforts that threaten voting rights and the independence of state and local election administration.
The report also includes actions and resources for people to vote and to encourage voting in their communities.
“Voters deserve elections that are free from intimidation, political interference, and unnecessary barriers to participation. The findings detailed in this report raise serious concerns about actions that could undermine public confidence in our elections and the ability of eligible voters to participate freely,” said Celina Stewart, Chief Executive Officer of the nonpartisan League of Women Voters, which has advocated for voting rights since its founding in 1920 and was not involved in producing this report. “The League of Women Voters believes that democracy works best when election administration remains fair, transparent, and accessible, and when voters can cast their ballots knowing their rights will be protected and their voices will be heard. We will continue to advocate for policies and practices that safeguard the freedom to vote and strengthen trust in our democratic institutions.”
The report notes that Democracy Forward currently has public-records litigation involving the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), DOJ, the Election Assistance Commission, the FBI, ICE, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the Social Security Administration, and USCIS.
Concurrent with the release of the report, Democracy Forward also filed a new Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit against ICE and the DHS. In the case, the watchdog group calls for the court to force ICE and DHS to respond to numerous unfulfilled FOIA requests looking into ICE’s involvement in unlawful investigations seeking to shore up the government’s ongoing false assertions about the preponderance of voter fraud. The case is Democracy Forward Foundation v. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
In conjunction with this report, Democracy Forward also released an update to its trusted People’s Guide to Voting Rights and the corresponding Election Toolkit, designed specifically to help people take action, make a voting plan, and access resources for every situation.
Read the report here.
Democracy Forward Foundation is a national legal organization that advances democracy and social progress through litigation, policy, public education, and regulatory engagement. For more information, please visit www.democracyforward.org.
Source: Democracy Forward Foundation
