Attorney General Blanche will not rule out Justice Department action on certifying midterm results
He called it a hypothetical doomsday scenario and said he has no plan to block certification. A court order curbing Homeland Security sweeps for noncitizen voters is set to take effect Friday unless an appeals court steps in.
Attorney General Todd Blanche told reporters in Norfolk, Virginia, on Oct. 22 that he would not rule out Justice Department involvement in states' certification of midterm results, Fox News reported. He said it was not his intention to "improperly interfere with elections" and called the situation a "doomsday scenario," adding, "Of course there's scenarios that we can all come up with hypothetically." Asked whether he planned to block certification, he said, "Of course not, no, not at all," and said the department was "not trying to create chaos." Fox noted that federal law does not specifically authorize the department to challenge ballots or delay certification.
The remarks came a day after U.S. District Judge Araceli Martinez-Olguin ordered Homeland Security to halt certain field investigations of suspected noncitizen voters in nine states through Election Day. Fox News reported that she found the plaintiffs likely to win their claim that armed agents interviewing people at home violate the Voting Rights Act's ban on intimidating people who help others register and vote, and that her order is on hold until Friday to allow an appeal. The Associated Press reported that the Justice Department has sued the 30 states that refused to hand over unredacted voter rolls and has lost each of those cases so far.
CBS News reported that armed Homeland Security Investigations agents have visited homes in several states since September, asking residents about their immigration status and voting history. The department says as many as 250,000 people may be illegally registered, a figure election experts dispute, and the Justice Department says 156 people have been charged with voting fraud offenses since the administration began, out of about 227 million registered voters, CBS reported. A Citizenship and Immigration Services whistleblower told CBS that employees were given quotas of 40 subjects a day.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said Democrats "have been preparing for this for months and will be ready," Fox News reported. Rep. Bennie Thompson, the top Democrat on the House Homeland Security Committee, asked Secretary Markwayne Mullin to halt the home visits, calling them voter intimidation, according to CBS.
What is established
- Blanche spoke at a news conference in Norfolk on Oct. 22.
- The judge's order covers nine states and is on hold until Friday, Oct. 23, to allow an appeal.
- The Justice Department has lost each of its suits seeking unredacted voter rolls so far, the AP reported.
- DHS says people here legally who break no laws "have nothing to fear."
What each side says
The department is not trying to create chaos or improperly interfere, only to make sure eligible people vote, but he will not promise it would never act in an extreme scenario.
It is "laser focused on identifying, prosecuting, and removing aliens who vote" and has no plans to question people it believes are citizens, a spokesperson told Fox News.
The sweeps and the talk of federal action after the election are meant to scare lawful voters; Schumer accused Trump and his allies of trying to "steal this election."
How it was covered
Left 1 report
Network coverage led with armed agents at voters' doors and critics who call the effort intimidation.
Center 1 report
Wire coverage led with the scope of the court order and the department's string of losses in voter roll suits.
Right 2 reports
Fox News led its ruling story with the judge's appointment by President Biden and her past work at the ACLU, and its Blanche story gave weight to his denial of any plan to block certification.