When it comes to election pressure, this year’s Georgia or Michigan could be anywhere

Election officials outside the familiar presidential battlegrounds could face intense scrutiny in the 2026 US midterms. Competitive races that may determine control of Congress are spread across states including Iowa, Alaska, Kansas and Texas. Officials there are preparing for the possibility that a routine mistake or delay could attract national attention and fuel unfounded claims about the vote. Chris McGinn, who represents county election officials in Texas, said he has been urging clerks to prepare for pressure they have rarely faced in federal elections.

Former Michigan clerk Tina Barton knows how quickly that pressure can escalate. In 2020, her office accidentally sent an unofficial absentee vote file twice; the tally was corrected the next day and actual votes were unaffected, but she received death threats after allegations that her office had improperly added Democratic votes. Barton now helps election officials prepare for disruptions. She warns that an equipment fault, jammed ballots or a website outage could become the basis for a wider false narrative if a race is close. Officials interviewed for the report said the threat environment appears calmer than it was after 2020, while recognising that close results could bring renewed hostility.