It looks like President Donald Trump, even after his decisive second campaign victory for the White House, cannot let go of the notion that the elections were somehow rigged.
A top official in Trump’s Justice Department recently sought access to voting equipment used by two Republican clerks in Missouri during the 2020 election, an unusual request from federal officials amid continued efforts by the president to malign the integrity of the nation’s voting systems.
“They wanted to test a machine that was used during the 2020 election,” Jasper County Clerk Charlie Davis said in an interview last week with The Washington Post. “I just told him we upgraded our machines. Our vendor has all of the old machines so we don’t have access.”
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The Trump administration declined to say whether the request for the voting machines was part of an investigation into alleged fraud during the 2020 election.
Trey Grayson, a Republican who served as Kentucky’s secretary of state, said local officials cannot hand off their machines to anyone else because doing so destroys the chain of custody they need to ensure no one tampers with them.
“As soon as you break that chain of custody, you put some doubt in — even when it’s the federal government,” he said.
Cory Nibert, an election specialist with Dominion’s dealer in Missouri, sent clerks an email last week warning that they could be charged with crimes if they turned over their machines to others, if officials allow the Justice Department or others to access the machines, they will not be able to use them again and would need to acquire new ones, he said in an interview.
“You can’t take it back because we don’t know what’s been done with it,” he said.
The Trump administration’s persistent efforts to access voting machines and sensitive voter data reflect an ongoing attempt to question the legitimacy of the 2020 election, despite no verified evidence of widespread fraud. These actions raise serious concerns about election security, legal boundaries, and respect for democratic processes. Election officials emphasize the importance of maintaining the chain of custody and protecting voter privacy to preserve public confidence in elections. Allowing external parties to handle or examine voting equipment risks compromising the machines and could invalidate their future use, further complicating election administration.
Moreover, the requests for voter rolls containing personal information have heightened fears about data privacy and potential misuse. The widespread refusal by states to comply highlights a strong commitment to safeguarding voter information and upholding the integrity of electoral systems. This clash between federal authorities and state officials reveals deep political polarization and the challenge of balancing transparency with security.
Beyond seeking access to machines, the Trump administration in recent months has asked states to provide copies of their voter rolls, which include sensitive information such as driver’s license numbers and the last four digits of Social Security numbers. Many states have rejected those requests.