The 2026 midterms are confronting an unprecedented wave of pre-election litigation and ballot challenges, raising anxieties about public confidence before voters even finish casting their ballots.
While post-election challenges are a familiar part of American politics, voting rights experts note that the current legal skirmishing carries a different character. “The types of challenges that we are seeing pre-election, this close to election day, are very unusual, and mostly because they are coming from the federal government,” Jonathan Diaz of the Campaign Legal Center said.
Diaz characterized the actions as legally meritless. “These lawsuits are frivolous,” he said, adding that they could “create doubt in the minds of the public about the legitimacy of the election process.” Conversely, the Trump administration has continued to push unsubstantiated claims of widespread irregularities. Addressing the issue, President Trump argued on social media that such practices amount to voter fraud, asserting that “It shouldn’t be allowed to happen, and it was done in conjunction with Schumer and everybody else. It’s called VOTER FRAUD. It should not have been allowed to happen.” The White House directed further inquiries to presidential remarks, while the Department of Justice did not respond to requests for comment.
In California, the administration petitioned state election officials to sequester ballots from approximately 20,000 registered voters whom the Department of Justice alleged might be noncitizens. A federal judge struck down that request, cautioning that the government failed to present adequate evidence to justify risking the disenfranchisement of eligible voters. The jurist pointed out that the DOJ advanced similar assertions in neighboring Nevada, where local election officials subsequently verified that 185 individuals flagged by federal authorities were actually U.S. citizens. Diaz dismissed the California litigation as “not a real lawsuit. It’s a political press release that they just happened to submit to the court.” When asked about the ruling, Trump maintained that “California is very corrupt” and that the state’s elections are “extremely corrupt,” though he offered no evidence for the assertion.
Similar friction emerged in Washington state, where two U.S. attorneys’ offices demanded that state officials set aside ballots from more than 400 individuals accused of unlawful voter registration. The demand mirrored the pressure applied to California prior to federal legal action. Washington Secretary of State Steve Hobbs rebuked the prosecutors in a Wednesday statement, criticizing the timing so close to Election Day as “profoundly disappointing.” Hobbs reported that a preliminary state inquiry revealed the federal roster contained verified U.S. citizens, rendering the list unreliable, and requested individualized proof of ineligibility from prosecutors.
Procedural hurdles have also surfaced in North Carolina, where nearly 4,000 mail-in ballots—representing roughly 6% of those processed through October 24—have been flagged for discrepancies that threaten to invalidate them if unresolved. With time dwindling for affected individuals to correct their filings, hundreds have yet to respond to official notifications. Observers note these rejections stem partly from new directives issued by the Republican-controlled state Board of Elections, which mandate that inner ballot envelopes remain sealed even if the outer envelope is already closed.
Meanwhile, Alaska’s Senate race has drawn scrutiny over ballot confusion and potential interference. The contest features two candidates named Dan Sullivan: incumbent Republican Sen. Dan S. Sullivan and retired teacher Dan J. Sullivan. Reports indicated that aides to Democratic candidate Mary Peltola allegedly assisted in recruiting the second Dan Sullivan in an effort to confuse voters and draw votes away from the incumbent. While Peltola’s campaign denied any participation, Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy ordered an investigation to determine whether the alleged maneuver breached state law and if civil or criminal penalties are warranted. Furthermore, the Department of Justice has filed a separate lawsuit seeking to delay certification of the Senate contest if the incumbent is defeated and ballots cast for the alternate Sullivan could have altered the result.
