The Democratic National Committee (DNC) filed a lawsuit Tuesday against the Trump administration, alleging that several federal agencies failed to properly respond to Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests seeking information about potential plans to deploy federal agents at election sites.
According to the lawsuit, the DNC submitted nearly a dozen FOIA requests in October to the Justice Department (DOJ), Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and Department of Defense (DOD). The requests sought records related to the possible deployment of federal agents or troops to polling places, ballot drop boxes, and election offices.
“Nearly five months later, the DNC has received neither substantive responses nor responsive documents, not even a list of documents withheld under statutory exemptions,” the lawsuit states.
The lawsuit comes after DHS told secretaries of state across the country late last month that the agency would not deploy federal officers to polling locations. The assurance followed comments from President Trump expressing support for greater federal involvement in elections ahead of the upcoming midterms.
In an interview last month with former FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino, Trump said Republicans should consider taking a larger role in election administration.
“The Republicans should say, ‘We want to take over — we should take over the voting — the voting in at least many, 15 places,’” Trump said during the interview. “The Republicans ought to nationalize the voting.”
At the time, White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said the president’s comments reflected concerns about election security.
“The president cares deeply about the safety and security of our elections – that’s why he’s urged Congress to pass the SAVE Act and other legislative proposals that would establish a uniform standard of photo ID for voting, prohibit no-excuse mail-in voting, and end the practice of ballot harvesting,” Jackson told The Hill.
The DNC’s lawsuit also referenced the FBI’s January search in Fulton County related to records tied to the 2020 election.
“These and many other actions have raised serious concerns among voters across the country that the President will order armed federal agents or troops to polling places, drop boxes, and election offices, in violation of U.S. law, and will send FBI agents or Justice Department officials to interfere with the orderly administration and certification of elections,” the lawsuit claims.
The legal challenge comes a day after Arizona Senate President Warren Petersen (R) said he had complied with a grand jury subpoena related to the Arizona Senate’s audit of Maricopa County’s 2020 election results.
A spokesperson for Maricopa County said Monday that the county itself had not yet received a subpoena.
