With the midterms just hours away, Senate Democrats huddled Sunday during a group phone call to discuss a “heightened” election threat in key battleground states, Punchbowl News reported Monday.
According to a Senate Democratic aide, on the call were Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Democratic election lawyer Marc Elias and multiple Senate Democrats.
“[The call was focused on] the heightened threat of election subversion in key Senate battleground states, where MAGA-aligned Republicans hold power at the state or local level,” the aide told Punchbowl News on the condition of anonymity.
For months, President Donald Trump has sparked fears that his administration will meddle in the midterms. The Justice Department has attempted to intervene in voting and ballot counting, and Trump has refused to rule out deploying federal agents or troops to polling places. The focus of Sunday’s crisis call, however, was the growing influence of MAGA-aligned Republicans in state elections.
Data from the nonpartisan Voting Rights Lab found that at least 25 election deniers are working within county election systems nationwide. The influence of election deniers on statewide elections could grow as well, with 32 election deniers currently vying for positions in which they would oversee statewide elections.
Sunday’s call also came on the same day a federal judge threw out the Trump administration’s lawsuit seeking to prevent Alaska state officials from certifying election results if Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-AK) loses his reelection bid, with DOJ officials having argued that voters could be confused about there being two candidates named Sullivan on the ballot.
The call also came just days after reporting revealed that state and local election officials have spent months preparing for possible federal intervention at polling places.