Blanche Won’t Rule Out DOJ Involvement in Midterm Election Certification

NORFOLK, Va. — Attorney General Todd Blanche on Thursday refused to rule out Justice Department involvement in how states certify their midterm election results, saying there were hypothetical scenarios that could prompt federal action.

“Of course there’s scenarios that we can all come up with hypothetically, you know, some doomsday scenario, for example, right?” Blanche told reporters in Virginia. “So, I don’t think it’s proper to make any kind of conclusory statements about what’s going to happen in the future, because I have no idea what’s happening in the future.”

Blanche said it was not his intention to “improperly interfere with elections” but added that he could not say there were no circumstances under which the department would act. “Am I planning my days around the election to be somewhere to not certify? Of course not, no, not at all,” he said.

The comments came at a news conference in Norfolk on Thursday, 12 days before the Nov. 3 midterm elections, where Blanche was questioned about the department’s election-related lawsuits, including efforts to force states to turn over unredacted voter data and to stop the counting of ballots the department says were cast by likely noncitizens.

The Justice Department’s role in elections is limited under the Constitution and federal law: it can protect civil rights and prosecute election-law violations, but no federal law specifically authorizes it to challenge ballots or delay a state’s certification. Under the Constitution, elections are run by state and local officials.

California lawsuit and limits on voter-fraud probes

The department sued California election officials last week, arguing they did not move fast enough to review names the federal government identified as likely noncitizens. California’s secretary of state’s office said it was given 48 hours to review about 20,000 names. The department also asked a judge to bar the state from counting mail-in ballots from those voters unless their eligibility could be confirmed.

A federal judge this week temporarily restricted certain election-related field operations and interviews in nine states through Election Day. The judge stayed the order until Friday evening to give the administration a chance to appeal. Earlier this week, Democratic leaders and election groups sued the administration, accusing it of “threats and intimidation” ahead of the election.

Blanche said the department was not trying to “create chaos.” “I’m not trying to not have an election certified. Of course not,” he said. “What we’re trying to do is guarantee to the American people that the only people that are voting are people that are eligible to vote.”

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., responded on X that Senate Democrats “have been preparing for this for months and will be ready.” “As Trump and his cronies attempt to steal this election, we are fighting them at every turn,” Schumer wrote. “Our elections must always belong to the voters — not Donald Trump.”

President Donald Trump has repeatedly said noncitizen voting poses a serious threat to election integrity, though documented cases of noncitizens casting ballots in federal elections have historically been rare.

Reporting based on coverage by Fox News and Democracy Docket.