Blanche leaves open hypothetical bid to block states certifying midterm results
Attorney General Todd Blanche said he could not rule out the Justice Department seeking to block states from certifying midterm election results in hypothetical circumstances, while stressing that he was not planning to do so. His comments drew concern because they came amid administration efforts to challenge some voting practices and as states prepare for closely contested races.
Blanche described a possible intervention as a “doomsday scenario” and said the department did not intend to interfere improperly with elections. The administration has pursued action over alleged noncitizen voting, which is rare, and a federal judge recently barred Homeland Security from conducting related investigations in nine states. The Justice Department has also sued California and Los Angeles over ballots linked to 20,000 voters it suspected were noncitizens; the basis for those suspicions was unclear.
In short
- Blanche would not rule out hypothetical DOJ action against certification.
- He said he was not planning to intervene.
- His comments came amid election-related legal disputes.
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The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
A federal government may need to act in extraordinary circumstances if credible evidence shows that a state is certifying results unlawfully or failing to protect eligible voters’ rights. Blanche’s insistence that intervention is not planned, and that it would be a last-resort scenario, can be read as preserving legal options rather than signalling an intention to disrupt elections.
The case against
Leaving open federal action to block certification can unsettle confidence in elections, particularly when the stated concern involves a rare form of voter fraud and the basis for some suspicions is unclear. States administer elections under established procedures, and critics can reasonably argue that any federal challenge should rely on specific evidence and ordinary legal processes, not an ambiguous prospect of stopping certification.
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Originally published by Daily Mail as “Trump’s attorney general won’t rule out move to block states certifying midterm votes with election just 12 days away”.