{ "id": 17166313, "title": "How Trump could interfere in US midterm elections", "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/30/how-trump-could-interfere-in-us-midterm-elections", "topic": "world", "section": "World", "published": "2026-10-30T02:46:30.000Z", "source": { "name": "New Straits Times", "slug": "new-straits-times", "url": "https://www.nst.com.my/world/world/2026/10/1566738/how-trump-could-interfere-us-midterm-elections" }, "original_language": "en", "account": "As US midterm elections approach, state election officials are wary of potential interference from President Donald Trump's administration. Concerns include federal authorities disrupting voting, challenging ballot counts, and attempting to block unfavorable results. Trump's Republican party is struggling to maintain control of Congress. The White House claims its actions are aimed at protecting election security, but many feared scenarios remain hypothetical.\n\nKey potential flashpoints include:\n\nBefore election day, the Justice Department has obtained voter registration lists from 30 states, seeking to identify non-citizens. They have lost more than two dozen cases in court. The department has also requested that ballots be set aside for about 20,000 individuals in California and over 400 in Washington state who are suspected of being non-citizens. Both requests have been rejected by federal judges, citing disruption to ongoing elections.\n\nDuring polling stations, the Justice Department plans to deploy around 1,000 election monitors nationwide, a historic deployment. Democrats and voting rights groups fear these monitors could intimidate voters. The monitors will be unarmed and barred from interfering with voting, and will be drawn from sources other than the FBI or Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).\n\nOther concerns include federal agents seeking warrants or subpoenas for election materials, potentially disrupting the counting process. In January, the FBI seized ballots and other 2020 election records from Fulton County, Georgia, in connection with Trump's false claims of victory. Courts have ruled that the president has no direct role in running elections, and federal courts have rejected the administration's main legal challenges so far.", "summary": "WASHINGTON: State officials who run US elections are bracing for further intervention by President Donald Trump’s administration in next week’s midterms, fearing federal authorities could disrupt voting, challenge ballot counts or try to block unfavourable results.", "key_points": [], "editors_take": null, "illustration": null, "coverage": { "outlets": 12, "also_reported_by": [ { "outlet": "Hindustan Times - World News", "title": "South Asians backing Democrat for Texas Senate seat in midterm election: Survey", "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/29/south-asians-backing-democrat-for-texas-senate-seat-in-midterm", "published": "2026-10-29T05:41:33.000Z" }, { "outlet": "Winnipeg Free Press", "title": "Watchdogs raise alarms about fire at South Carolina site where US plans to build nuclear component", "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/29/watchdogs-raise-alarms-about-fire-at-south-carolina-site-where-us", "published": "2026-10-29T21:32:33.000Z" }, { "outlet": "CBS News", "title": "Midterm races in Alaska, South Carolina heat up as Trump steps in", "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/29/midterm-races-in-alaska-south-carolina-heat-up-as-trump-steps-in", "published": "2026-10-29T22:00:13.000Z" }, { "outlet": "Free Malaysia Today", "title": "Trump scraps midterm rallies, plans to phone in to other campaign events", "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/30/trump-scraps-midterm-rallies-plans-to-phone-in-to-other-campaign", "published": "2026-10-30T00:13:13.000Z" }, { "outlet": "Channel News Asia", "title": "Trump cancels weekend rallies, plans to phone in to other midterm campaign events", "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/30/trump-cancels-weekend-rallies-plans-to-phone-in-to-other-midterm-17152837", "published": "2026-10-30T00:37:00.000Z" }, { "outlet": "Jerusalem Post", "title": "Trump cancels weekend rallies, plans to phone in to other midterm campaign events", "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/30/trump-cancels-weekend-rallies-plans-to-phone-in-to-other-midterm", "published": "2026-10-30T00:42:51.000Z" }, { "outlet": "National Post", "title": "Trump cancels midterm appearances, will campaign via ‘tele-rallies’", "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/30/trump-cancels-midterm-appearances-will-campaign-via-tele-rallies", "published": "2026-10-30T01:48:56.000Z" }, { "outlet": "Gulf News", "title": "'You look like hell': Trump body-shames journalist on questions over cancelled rallies", "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/30/you-look-like-hell-trump-body-shames-journalist-on-questions-over", "published": "2026-10-30T02:50:29.000Z" }, { "outlet": "The Sydney Morning Herald", "title": "Trump cancels final midterm rallies then fat shames reporter who asked why", "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/30/trump-cancels-final-midterm-rallies-then-fat-shames-reporter-who", "published": "2026-10-30T03:35:12.000Z" }, { "outlet": "The Age", "title": "Trump cancels final midterm rallies then fat shames reporter who asked why", "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/30/trump-cancels-final-midterm-rallies-then-fat-shames-reporter-who-17171198", "published": "2026-10-30T03:35:12.000Z" }, { "outlet": "Punch Nigeria", "title": "How Trump could interfere in US midterm elections", "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/30/how-trump-could-interfere-in-us-midterm-elections-17186421", "published": "2026-10-30T06:24:51.000Z" } ] }, "ai_generated": true, "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original." }