FBI raids, prosecution threats, DOJ lawsuits: Federal pressure on U.S. elections mounts two weeks before midterms

Two weeks before Election Day, the federal government is pressing on American elections from multiple directions at once: armed FBI agents have already seized more than 600 boxes of Georgia ballots, the Justice Department has threatened to prosecute election officials in California and Utah, and Georgia's own Republican-led State Election Board has now asked the DOJ to investigate the state's voting machines — a request that prompted a sharp rebuke from Georgia's Republican Secretary of State.

The Justice Department's threat to California came on Friday, when it warned state election officials it could prosecute them if they knowingly count mail-in ballots from roughly 20,000 people the Trump administration describes as 'likely noncitizens.' President Trump amplified the warning on social media: 'They will all go to jail for a long period of time!!!', according to CBS News.

The California warning is the latest in a sequence that began, in visible form, with a January FBI raid on a Fulton County, Georgia warehouse. Dozens of armed agents arrived with a criminal search warrant, spent the day packing up election materials from the 2020 election, and left after Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard arrived on site. Fulton County Commissioner Dana Barrett, a Democrat, said she had no choice but to let them in.

They had vests. They had guns. They had all of the equipment on their belts as if they were raiding a drug house.— Dana Barrett, Fulton County Commissioner

CBS News obtained an internal FBI email showing 260 analysts were temporarily reassigned to work on a 'priority investigation' into the Georgia materials. That was three months ago. According to CBS News, nothing has publicly come of it yet.

We have no idea.— Dana Barrett, Fulton County Commissioner

When asked by CBS News's Lesley Stahl where the seized ballots are now, Barrett said Fulton County does not know where they were taken. Barrett described the raid as 'political theater aimed at undermining the 2026 and 2028 elections' and part of 'a concerted effort that's happening nationwide to undermine faith in elections.'

The Georgia State Election Board's executive director, James Mills, took a different approach this week — asking the federal government to go further, not pull back. In a letter sent Wednesday to Attorney General Todd Blanche, Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon, and Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, Mills requested DOJ 'review and, where appropriate, investigation and intervention' into Georgia's voting machines, QR-code tabulation systems, ballot secrecy, record preservation, and the sharing of voter registration data with outside organizations, according to the Washington Examiner.

Mills also alleged in the letter that Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger — himself a Republican — had 'restricted access to election records,' and asked the DOJ to hold Raffensperger and other state officials accountable for allegedly altering records. Raffensperger's office did not accept the framing.

People who are serious about election security don't inject chaos in the eleventh hour. In roughly 30 days, Georgia's 159 election directors will conduct a free, fair, and fast election for all eligible Georgia voters.— Michon Lindstrom, spokeswoman for Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger

The DOJ told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that 'any decision on whether to take action is made independently by the Department, based on the facts and the law,' according to the Washington Examiner.

The pressure is not limited to Democratic-run states. Utah Lieutenant Governor Deidre Henderson — a Republican in a state Trump won by more than 20 points — told CBS News she refused a Justice Department demand for her state's full voter registration list, which she said included voters' Social Security numbers, full dates of birth, and driver's license numbers. Officials in 29 other states, both Democratic and Republican, also refused. The DOJ has sued all of them, arguing it needs access to verify that non-citizens are not registered to vote.

In the past two elections that I oversaw as lieutenant governor the threats were all external. Non-state actors, cyber security threats and other things. But now we also have threats coming from within our own government.— Deidre Henderson, Lieutenant Governor of Utah

Henderson has been personally notified that if she knowingly allows any noncitizens to vote in Utah she could be prosecuted and sent to prison. Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin stated in July that election officials 'can also be held accountable by fines, by penalties and even depending on how far it goes, prison time,' according to CBS News. Henderson told CBS News she does not believe she will go to prison, but acknowledged the uncertainty.

State audits have shown noncitizen voting is extremely rare. Henderson told CBS News that a Utah audit found only 52 questionable registrations out of more than 2 million voters — two thousandths of one percent — and that it has never been an issue affecting an election outcome in the state.

You take a fraudulent claim. You investigate it at the state level. Then the federal level refers to what the state did. And people just see all of these investigations and FBI raids and subpoenas and they say, 'Something must be wrong there. Why should I believe the results?'— Dana Barrett, Fulton County Commissioner

Georgia carries particular weight this cycle. The state has two closely watched races: Senator Jon Ossoff, a Democrat, is seeking reelection against Republican Representative Mike Collins in a race the Cook Political Report rates as 'likely Democratic,' while Republican Rick Jackson faces former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms in a governor's race rated a toss-up, according to the Washington Examiner.

All of these stories remain developing, with sharp partisan disagreements over the scope and intent of the actions.

Why it matters — With Election Day two weeks away, federal pressure on the officials who actually run elections — including prosecution threats and physical seizure of ballots — is creating documented uncertainty among election administrators in both parties about how to proceed, and is fueling broader public doubt about whether results will be trusted.

Sources differ on Intent of federal election investigations: Fulton County Commissioner Dana Barrett calls the actions 'political theater aimed at undermining the 2026 and 2028 elections' and part of a 'concerted effort to undermine faith in elections.' (cbsnews.com) vs The Justice Department says it needs access to voter rolls and is taking action to ensure immigrants not entitled to vote do not cast ballots; DOJ says any action is 'made independently, based on the facts and the law.' (washingtonexaminer.com)

Sources differ on Georgia State Election Board letter to DOJ: Board executive director James Mills requested DOJ investigation of voting machines, QR-code systems, and Secretary of State Raffensperger for allegedly restricting record access. (washingtonexaminer.com) vs Raffensperger spokeswoman Michon Lindstrom said: 'People who are serious about election security don't inject chaos in the eleventh hour.' (washingtonexaminer.com)

Reported by cbsnews.com, washingtonexaminer.com, reuters.com