President Donald Trump’s efforts to interfere in the midterms are generating alarm, but an elections expert says the administration’s mounting setbacks deserve more attention.
“This is all a lot of noise, and it’s failing,” David Becker, a former Justice Department attorney who leads the Center for Election Innovation and Research, told Mother Jones.
Becker pointed to court decisions blocking administration initiatives, including its attempt to force California officials to set aside thousands of ballots from alleged noncitizens.
“They are zero for 27 in their lawsuits trying to seize sensitive voter data, and nine of those courts have Trump-appointed judges!” he said.
While Becker warned against the normalization of federal interference in elections, he described the Trump administration’s efforts as “complete failures.”
The former DOJ voting rights attorney also argued Thursday that fear of immigration agents appearing at polling places could itself scare people into staying home — even if agents never show up.
“That way, they won’t have to actually deploy them. They can get people to just stay home on their own,” Becker said. “But it’s not working.”
Becker questioned the reliability of the administration’s voter data, describing a pattern in which sweeping allegations fall apart under scrutiny.
In Nevada, he said, federal officials initially claimed roughly 16,000 noncitizens were on voter rolls. When officials eventually shared names with the state, the list contained just 185.
Nevada investigated every person, Becker told Mother Jones.
“Turns out, all of them were citizens,” he said.