Election Security Fight Heats Up Ahead of Crucial Midterms

Two Democratic lawmakers are demanding that the Trump administration release nearly $40 million in election-security funding ahead of the November midterm elections, warning that states and local election officials have limited time to prepare for cyberattacks and foreign interference.

Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif.,

 

and Rep. Joseph Morelle, D-N.Y., 

 

made the demand in a Sept. 2 letter to Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin and Nick Anderson, the acting head of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, NPR reported Thursday.

The lawmakers are seeking the release of more than $39.6 million that Congress directed the Department of Homeland Security to provide for election-security efforts in fiscal 2026.

"With the midterm elections occurring in two months, we write with grave concern that time is running out," the lawmakers wrote, according to NPR.

Padilla and Morelle said the funding is needed to help state and local election officials protect voting infrastructure from cyberattacks and foreign interference.

They specifically raised concerns about threats from Iran, Russia, China and other foreign actors.

Much of their concern centers on the Election Infrastructure Information Sharing and Analysis Center, or EI-ISAC, which provides election offices with information about cyber threats and guidance on protecting election systems.

The lawmakers said changes in federal funding have made it more difficult for some state and local jurisdictions to obtain cybersecurity assistance.

Trump's Election Security Priority

The funding dispute comes as the Trump administration has increasingly emphasized another aspect of election security: the mechanics of voting itself, particularly mail-in ballots.

President Donald Trump has made tighter controls on mail voting a prominent part of his broader election-security agenda, alongside efforts involving voter-registration records, citizenship verification and ballot-counting procedures.

That effort is currently tied up in a separate legal battle that reached the Supreme Court again Thursday.

The Trump administration asked the Supreme Court to block a federal judge's order preventing the U.S. Postal Service from implementing new rules governing mail-in ballots, Reuters reported.

The administration's latest filing came as U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani in Boston considered whether to extend her temporary block on portions of the Postal Service rules.

Talwani issued the 14-day temporary restraining order last week after Democratic-led states and voting-rights groups challenged the USPS rules, arguing that the federal government lacked the authority to impose the requirements and that the changes could disrupt the November elections.

Newsmax reported Thursday that Talwani was weighing whether to extend the temporary block while considering the challengers' request for a longer-term injunction.

The Postal Service rules stem from Trump's March executive order on elections.

Among other provisions, the order directs the federal government to compile information on eligible voters and directs the Postal Service to limit delivery of mail ballots to voters on state-approved lists.

The USPS rules would require states to provide lists of mail-ballot recipients and use standardized ballot envelopes containing unique barcodes.

The administration argues that the requirements are intended to strengthen election integrity and improve the security of mail voting.

Opponents argue that the rules improperly intrude on states' authority to administer elections and could result in eligible ballots being rejected or delayed.

The latest Supreme Court filing marks another turn in the legal fight.

The justices in August cleared away an earlier injunction against Trump's mail-voting order after finding that the states' initial challenge had come before the administration had taken enough concrete steps to implement the policy.

That decision did not resolve the underlying constitutional questions surrounding the order.

The states and voting-rights groups subsequently filed a new challenge after the Postal Service moved forward with its implementing rules.

Talwani then temporarily blocked portions of those rules, setting up the current hearing and the administration's latest Supreme Court appeal.

The timing is significant because states are beginning the process of preparing and sending mail ballots for the Nov. 3 midterm elections.

The dispute illustrates two competing emphases in the current election-security debate.

Padilla and Morelle are urging the federal government to devote resources to protecting election infrastructure from cyberattacks, foreign interference and other security threats.

The Trump administration has placed increasing emphasis on the integrity of the voting process itself, including who receives mail ballots and how those ballots are processed.

The administration has pursued similar goals through other election initiatives involving voter rolls, citizenship verification, paper ballots and election audits.

Trump has argued that stronger safeguards are needed to protect election integrity and increase public confidence in election results.

Democratic officials and voting-rights groups have challenged several of those initiatives in court, arguing that election administration is primarily the responsibility of states and local governments.

The separate battles over DHS funding and mail-in voting are therefore unfolding around different visions of election security, even as both sides say they are focused on protecting the integrity of the November elections.

With the midterms less than two months away, the fight over federal election-security funding is continuing at the same time the administration's mail-ballot rules face another critical test in federal court and at the Supreme Court.

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