Trump’s DOJ targeting three of the most pivotal swing state counties ahead of midterm elections

• The Department of Justice’s (DOJ) new demand for all ballots from the 2024 election in Wayne County, Michigan, echoes the methods of DOJ investigations in Fulton County, Georgia, and Maricopa County, Arizona.
  
  
• The thread connecting these DOJ attempts to root out voting fraud is that they appear to be based, in part, on longstanding conspiracy theories surrounding the 2020 election.
  
  
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On eve of Virginia redistricting election, Republicans mount final challenge to voter ID rules

• The Republican National Committee (RNC) filed a lawsuit challenging voter identification in Fairfax County, a Democratic stronghold in the suburbs of Washington, D.C.
  
  
• Republicans claim the county is using a “loophole … to allow unqualified, non-citizen individuals to vote in elections.” In reality, the suit looks more like a last-ditch challenge to redistricting itself.
  
  
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• Over the weekend the RNC claimed it scored an “election integrity win” in Virginia’s Prince William County by forcing it to change its elections guidance on detecting noncitizen voters. The county's elections director said those claims are unfounded — an attempt "to fabricate a nonexistent problem."

Trump loyalist who challenged 2020 election results tapped to head DOJ ‘grand conspiracy’ probe

• A former Trump campaign lawyer who backed efforts to overturn the 2020 election was appointed to a U.S. attorney’s office leading a sprawling probe into federal officials who investigated President Donald Trump.
  
  
• The move marks another significant blow to the DOJ's independence from the White House.
  
  
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Top advocate for restricting voting rushes to defend EAC official who spread false conspiracy theory about Dems

• The president of the right-wing Public Interest Legal Foundation accused Democracy Docket of “weaponizing bureaucracy” after we reported last week that the U.S. Election Assistance Commission’s (EAC) Republican vice-chair Christy McCormick said she is under investigation.
  
  
• The probe stems from McCormick’s false claim that Democrats rely on “illegal citizens” to win elections.
  
  
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Virginia agrees to stop mass voter purges near Election Day

• In a win for Virginians, a court greenlit an agreement barring the state from removing voters from the rolls within 90 days of federal elections.
  
  
• The case challenged a policy that flagged suspected noncitizens using outdated records and had purged more than 1,600 voters before the 2024 election.
  
  
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Indiana’s ban on student IDs for voting reinstated by appeals court

• In a loss for voters, the 7th Circuit reinstated an Indiana law banning the use of student IDs for voting after a lower court blocked the measure last week. The new ruling means voters cannot use their student IDs to vote as litigation in the case continues.
  
  
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Coming up tomorrow

• A hearing is scheduled on motions to dismiss the DOJ's voter roll lawsuit in New Mexico.
  
  
• It’s Election Day for Virginians to vote on a new congressional map that could give Democrats up to five more seats in the House. Democracy Docket will be working late to keep you informed, follow us on BlueSky, Facebook or at democracydocket.com.