Electoral system

Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy has directed the Department of Public Safety to investigate allegations that staff for Democratic Senate candidate Mary Peltola and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee recruited namesake challenger Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. to siphon votes from Republican incumbent Sen. Dan Sullivan. The probe follows New York Times reporting, partly based on a since-retracted account from Peltola's fired former campaign manager, Elisa Rios, describing an internal "ballot composition" effort allegedly involving Peltola's campaign lawyers and senior DSCC aides. The Peltola campaign and DSCC deny involvement, with Peltola calling the controversy "a distraction"; the retired Petersburg teacher also denies running at Democrats' behest, though he has acknowledged a history of backing Peltola and other Democrats.

President Trump called for Peltola's prosecution and removal from the ballot, and the Justice Department has issued fresh subpoenas to Democratic officials believed to be involved in the recruitment effort, building on an existing U.S. Attorney's Office inquiry into Daniel J. Sullivan dating back to summer. The DOJ has also sued to block certification if Sullivan narrowly loses, arguing the scheme amounts to a "conspiracy to undermine the integrity of the electoral process"; Alaska moved to dismiss that suit, calling it meritless, and a federal judge set an expedited schedule with a ruling possible within days. The Alaska Supreme Court previously rejected efforts to remove the challenger Sullivan from the ballot. Sen. Lisa Murkowski joined other Republicans condemning the alleged scheme as voters rank Sen. Sullivan, Peltola, Daniel J. Sullivan Jr., and Gerald Heikes on the Nov. 3 ballot.

Dunleavy has declined to commit to certifying the election if Peltola wins while the investigation is ongoing, saying any finding of illegal conduct "may in fact impact whether somebody is seated in the U.S. Senate" and that officials would weigh whether to involve Senate leadership. House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer has demanded testimony from operatives named in the reporting and threatened subpoenas of his own. Dunleavy's term ends Dec. 7, shortly after Alaska's target date for certifying results.

With polls suggesting Ken Paxton could lose Texas's U.S. Senate race, Democratic advocates and local officials fear Paxton and the Trump administration might use federal or state power to disrupt voting in Harris County, a Democratic stronghold. Concerns include possible ICE presence near polling places, National Guard involvement, or baseless fraud claims used to contest results, echoing past Trump-era efforts in Georgia, California and Alaska.

Harris County Clerk Teneshia Hudspeth says her office has trained staff, secured legal authority to respond to litigation, and increased transparency through livestreamed ballot counting. Democratic Party officials, elected Democrats, and nonpartisan election experts say safeguards and bipartisan oversight make the county's election process resilient to interference or unfounded fraud claims.

Georgia's Joint Election Equipment Specifications and Standards Committee, created by the legislature's Special Session Senate Resolution 3 EX and chaired by Sen. Max Burns and Rep. Victor Anderson, held its third meeting to evaluate requirements for the state's next election equipment, focused on hand-marked paper ballots produced via ballot-on-demand printing.

Secretary of state officials reviewed Georgia's voting system history since 2000, including 2005 touchscreen upgrades and 2006 electronic poll books. Cybersecurity experts, including Geoff Hale of the Center for Democracy and Technology and Michael Specter of Georgia Tech, testified that election infrastructure faces persistent cyber threats, though no confirmed vote-tally interference has occurred. Vendors and voting-integrity advocates, including Verified Voting's Mark Lindeman and Mojave Research's Jason Wareham, urged hand-marked paper ballots, independent security research access, and systems that "fail loudly" on errors, while preserving accessible ballot-marking devices for voters with disabilities.

Officials described the goal as a system that is easy to vote but hard to cheat, echoing Gov. Brian Kemp, with an aggressive timeline to get any new system to county officials for training ahead of future elections.

Utah Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson has drawn support from Gov. Spencer Cox and former Gov. Gary Herbert after refusing a Justice Department request for the state's full voter registration list, including sensitive personal data. The DOJ's Civil Rights Division has opened an investigation into Henderson over the refusal, arguing it violates federal law. Henderson's office maintains that neither state nor federal law entitles the DOJ to collect private information on citizens, and Cox has publicly criticized the investigation as improper.

The dispute comes as the U.S. Supreme Court blocked a Trump administration plan requiring the Postal Service to screen mailed ballots against a federal citizen registry before delivery, upholding an injunction against the rule. Henderson said the ruling ensures Utah's 2026 election will proceed normally. Utah relies heavily on vote-by-mail, which state officials credit with boosting turnout from among the lowest in the nation to among the highest since 2018. A recent state audit found only a small number of confirmed noncitizens among Utah's more than 2 million registered voters, underscoring officials' argument that state-run election oversight is working effectively.

Turmoil in Shasta County, California's elections office has intensified after registrar Clint Curtis sealed a room containing primary ballots with locks and duct tape, claiming without evidence they seemed suspicious. County leaders publicly condemned Curtis and asked the FBI, California's attorney general and secretary of state to investigate his conduct, while Curtis separately said he too had asked the FBI to look into the matter. The county's Board of Supervisors previously censured Curtis over treatment of staff, and internal investigations found he threatened employees and misused work time on his own campaign.

Curtis, a longtime election denier with no prior election administration experience, drew national attention for seeking to hire Tina Peters, a convicted former Colorado clerk tied to a 2021 voting-machine breach, as a consultant. California lawmakers and Gov. Gavin Newsom's office are reviewing whether such a hire would violate state law. The dispute echoes a separate case in Riverside County, where a sheriff's seizure of ballots is being challenged before the California Supreme Court, raising broader questions about election security and oversight ahead of the midterms.