Preparations for election security have taken on heightened importance this year amid rising political tensions.<\/p>\n
President Donald Trump has tried in several ways to assert federal control over the voting process that constitutionally is the realm of the states and Congress, but largely has been blocked in court.<\/p>\n
The administration says these efforts are aimed at ensuring the accuracy and legitimacy of the elections. Critics maintain Trump is trying to rig the midterm elections for Republicans in a year where virtually all indicators suggest Democrats have a growing advantage.<\/p>\n
Regardless, Trump has continued his evidence-free claim that massive voting fraud has taken place in past elections and will again if he doesn\u2019t step in.<\/p>\n
He has expressed regrets that he didn\u2019t have some voting machines seized<\/a> after the 2020 presidential election, which he lost to Joe Biden. He mused earlier this year that this election should be canceled,<\/a> but soon changed his tune after blowback. His more recent exhortation that his followers should \u201ccheat like hell<\/a>\u201d was dismissed as joking by the White House.<\/p>\n But many elections officials, prosecutors and elected officials aren\u2019t laughing \u2014 and not all of them are Democrats.<\/p>\n The response has been two-fold. Increasingly, voters are being reassured that these elections will unfold normally, as they have in the past. At the same time, plans are being drawn up to address potential unprecedented election intrusion by federal investigators and litigators \u2014 and even immigration agents and military personnel.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s a lot that\u2019s the same,\u201d San Diego County Registrar of Voters Shawn Brom said in an interview about election security preparations. \u201cNothing is changing.\u201d<\/p>\n He noted court actions, particularly the Supreme Court ruling blocking Trump\u2019s proposed limits to voting by mail. Others have also pointed out that some of the president\u2019s election-related executive orders and Justice Department lawsuits seeking state voter rolls have been rejected in court.<\/p>\n Brom said the settling of the legal disputes \u201callows us to go back to the normal process we\u2019re familiar with.\u201d<\/p>\n Sen. Alex Padilla, D-California, has been outspoken throughout the year warning of potential Trump meddling in the elections. In September, he struck a more reassuring tone, even as he emphasized \u2014 as he has all year \u2014 that Trump will continue to try to sow doubt about election results that don\u2019t go his way.<\/p>\n \u201cThe bottom line for voters in California right now is nothing has changed. We\u2019ve had safe and secure elections, and we will continue to do so,\u201d Padilla said, according<\/a> to the Los Angeles Times.<\/p>\n California Attorney General Rob Bonta and his Democratic counterparts across the country have been gaming out scenarios of possible federal intervention in the election and devising responses to them.<\/p>\n \u201cWe think it\u2019s limitless what he will try and what he is capable of,\u201d Bonta said of Trump. \u201cSo, if you can imagine it, we have thought of it and we have a plan.\u201d<\/p>\n Lauren Bis, a White House spokesperson, said that Democrats are conjuring up irrational concerns that are undermining efforts to improve election security, according<\/a> to Votebeat, a news organization focused on elections and voting.<\/p>\n \u201cThe only \u2018fears\u2019 Americans have about our elections are being fueled by extreme liberal Democrats who refuse to support commonsense legislation that ensures Americans, and Americans only, decide our elections,\u201d Bis said.<\/p>\n It\u2019s far from certain what, if any, action the Trump administration may take. The scenarios Democrats are discussing include increased and more aggressive federal election monitors, immigration officers at polling places and seizure of ballots and election machinery, among other things.<\/p>\n Amid Trump\u2019s fraud claims, grand jury subpoenas from the U.S. Justice Department seeking voter information have been received by election offices across the country, including the San Diego County Registrar of Voters office, according<\/a> to inewsource.<\/p>\n While California state and local law enforcement have been involved in election planning \u2014 as they always are \u2014 Bonta said the responses to federal action would be on the legal front and would avoid physical confrontation.<\/p>\n Lawsuits and petitions for restraining orders are being drafted in advance with places for certain information such as plaintiff, defendant and jurisdiction left blank, to be filled out in real-time in order to respond immediately to situations that may arise.<\/p>\n However, election officials have been advised to comply with legitimate subpoenas and judicial search warrants, and let the courts determine the outcome.<\/p>\n Brom, the San Diego registrar, noted there have been multi-level discussions about the difference between judicial and administrative warrants issued by agencies, the latter of which can be rejected by the target under some circumstances.<\/p>\n As they have in the past, San Diego officials have been in regular contact with the California Secretary of State\u2019s Office, which oversees elections, and participate in local meetings that include representatives of the Sheriff\u2019s Department, FBI and other local governments in the region.<\/p>\n Brom said the local election security task force has conducted \u201ctabletop exercises\u201d walking through how to handle various emergencies, which can include more typical disruptions such as bomb threats, power outages and severe weather.<\/p>\n