Key facts
- Trump administration dismantled key federal bodies investigating election threats.
- Justice department's election threats taskforce prosecuted 21 cases between 2021 and 2024.
- No new cases have been prosecuted by the taskforce since then, according to Nikki Fisher.
- Federal cuts have reduced information-sharing across election security professionals.
- Trump officials focused on investigating alleged foreign interference in the 2020 election.
- The DoJ has charged over 90 people with voter fraud offenses, including 50 noncitizens recently.
The Trump administration has reportedly dismantled key federal bodies responsible for investigating election threats from foreign actors and domestic terrorists, according to former officials and experts. While administration officials have focused on unsubstantiated claims of widespread voter fraud by noncitizens, other credible election threats appear to have been overlooked, potentially leaving local agencies less informed about broader patterns.
Between 2021 and 2024, the justice department’s election threats taskforce prosecuted 21 cases, including those involving individuals who organized shootings at election officials' homes or shot up campaign meetings. However, Nikki Fisher, former chief election security officer for the Oregon secretary of state, stated that the taskforce "appears to be defunct in practice" with no new cases prosecuted recently.
Federal cuts to agencies like the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (Cisa) have weakened the information-sharing environment among election security professionals, according to Geoff Hale, a visiting fellow at the Center for Democracy & Technology. Caitlin Durkovich, a former deputy homeland security adviser, added that the administration "has dismantled the entire apparatus that is responsible for detecting and holding these bad actors accountable."
Despite pleas from Democratic lawmakers to retain election integrity assets, these efforts went unheeded. Meanwhile, Trump officials have pursued investigations into alleged foreign interference, including the seizure of ballots in Fulton County and elections apparatus in Puerto Rico. Trump himself has claimed China acquired extensive voter information during the 2020 election and that Venezuela digitally manipulated its election results. The DoJ has recently charged over 90 people with voter fraud offenses, including 50 noncitizens in the past five weeks, according to attorney general Todd Blanche.