Election officials across the country are war-gaming every move they think President Donald Trump might make to interfere in the midterm elections — scenarios that range from ordering federal agents to seize ballots and voting machines to sending immigration agents to polling locations. 

“I have no idea what’s next, and I don’t think anybody does,” said a senior Republican election official, one of several granted anonymity to discuss the administration’s actions against states and threats against election workers. “We’re just not creative or devious enough to come up with what might be coming.”

As the president continues to spread lies about the 2020 election, the Justice Department is dispatching 1,000 monitors to watch midterm voting, and his most loyal MAGA-sphere allies are calling a federal election takeover necessary because, as one put it, “we’re in a revolution right now.” Earlier this year, Trump said “we shouldn’t even have an election” and expressed regret for not ordering the National Guard to seize voting machines in 2020. More recently, he left the door open to declaring a national emergency to gain control over the elections this November. 

Five top election officials in different states told MS NOW that state officials and election administrators are in active conversations with local law enforcement, state attorneys general and legal advisers about how to respond if federal agents attempt to raid a polling site and seize ballots or machines — breaking the chain of custody for ballots and potentially throwing an election’s results into doubt. 

If federal agents arrive at a polling location with a search warrant in hand, a state’s only apparent immediate response is to sue and seek an emergency stay from a court. If federal agents try to seize ballots or disrupt voting based on a national emergency declared by the president, state officials are actively talking to local law enforcement about their options to respond, said the election officials.

“[Local officials] know we have legal representation, and they know we’re a buffer for them,” Nevada Secretary of State Cisco Aguilar said. “We’ve given counties an indication that if agents show up with a subpoena for ballots, this is what you do. We’ve laid this out. They know who to call.”

Election administrators are getting “real life, face-to-face training” about what they can do, “what kinds of federal authority actually exists, what folks showing up with badges and guns have the power to actually do or not,” said a senior election official in another swing state.

“We’re preparing for scenarios that most people haven’t even considered, and the Trump administration isn’t even aware are possible,” said the senior election official.

The Democratic secretaries of state and attorneys general are directly consulting with two outside national organizations, Democracy Defenders and States United Democracy Center, for legal preparations.

For some election officials who spoke to MS NOW, the bigger fear isn’t something Trump would order, but the potential for violence.

Trump’s rhetoric, including his false claims that both past and upcoming elections are rigged, is “dangerous,” said the senior Republican election official. “[Trump] is actively trying to undermine people’s confidence in elections.” 

“If you can’t trust the ballot, what’s left? The bullet,” the official said. “It’s just the inevitable end in general of the destruction of public confidence in our democratic institutions. That’s the end of it; that’s where we’re headed if we can’t turn the ship around.”

Another senior election official said violence “worries me more than anything else” — more than Immigration and Customs Enforcement around the polls or attempted interference by Iran. A third said the potential for violence is “definitely blinking on our dashboard.”

“The President has never called for violence,” White House spokeswoman Lauren Bis told MS NOW in response to a request for comment. “This is another fake news story.”

Despite racking up losses in court, the Trump administration’s efforts are only escalating, the senior election officials said. The administration’s actions include efforts to obtain sensitive voter data, withhold antiterrorism funding unless states hand over voter rolls, restrict mail-in voting, threaten election officials with prosecution and attempt to grab control of election administration despite it being constitutionally regulated by the states. 

Ultimately, “the Trump administration is trying to sow fear because they are desperately afraid of what’s going to happen in November,” Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows said.

As for the record number of election monitors the Justice Department plans to send to states, Bellows said they are welcome to observe, “but they are not welcome to exercise power they simply do not have under the Constitution or law.”

Meanwhile, the trust and relationship between state election officials and the federal government is at an all-time low, according to multiple state election officials who spoke with MS NOW. The Trump administration gutted the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, a key federal partner meant to help states protect against foreign election interference and attacks on critical voting infrastructure. 

Now, with fewer than 11 weeks until Election Day, the Trump administration is rushing to rebuild the agency and make amends with state officials. But those who talked to MS NOW called it “too little, too late,” and said that there is little to no communication about potential threats between states and federal agents. 

Aguilar, however, said that CISA has not contacted every state, including Nevada, and it is unclear if there will be any election experts to initiate contact with. “If we want to get it done right, we have to get it done ourselves because we can’t depend on the federal government,” he said.

“The trust has been so decimated,” said one of the senior election officials. “The threats we’re getting are coming from within the government now.”

UPDATE (Aug. 20, 2026 10:41 a.m. ET): This article has been updated with comment from the White House.

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