Blanche won't rule out DOJ move to block state vote certification in 'doomsday' case

Attorney General Todd Blanche on Thursday left open the possibility that the Justice Department could try to block states from certifying votes in the midterm elections. He also said he did not intend to "improperly interfere with elections." ¹

Reporters asked Blanche before he boarded a plane in Norfolk, Virginia, whether he could rule out any Justice Department action that might delay the counting of ballots. He said it was never the department's intention to interfere with the state certification process. Then he added that he would not promise it would never happen. ¹

of course, I’m not going to say that

Blanche described a doomsday scenario in which the department would seek to get involved in the certification work of state and local election officials. He did not say what that scenario would look like. He said he was not planning his days around the election so as to be somewhere to not certify. ¹

What the law says

Certification is the formal step in which election officials declare the final results. NBC News reports that no U.S. law says the Justice Department can challenge ballots or delay certification. U.S. elections are run by state and local officials, who are charged with certifying results. ¹

The department's election role is limited by law. It mainly covers protecting civil rights and prosecuting individuals who violate election law. Private citizens and candidates can sue over ballots or results. ¹

More lawsuits may be coming

NBC News reported this week that the department is weighing more election-related lawsuits against states. It has already sued California to compel officials to review 18,000 registered voters it suspected could be noncitizens trying to cast fraudulent ballots. ¹

California sends ballots automatically in an all-mail election. So do Colorado, Hawaii, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Vermont, Washington state and Washington, D.C. ¹ President Trump has often targeted mail voting with fraud claims. He uses it himself to cast his ballot in Florida. ¹

Voting experts say voting by noncitizens is relatively rare. ¹

The setting

Blanche made the remarks on a trip to Norfolk with FBI Director Kash Patel. They announced racketeering charges against Virginia state Sen. Louise Lucas, a Democrat. She is 82. ¹² Blanche said it was fine to bring the case weeks before the election because Lucas is not on the ballot this year. ² Rep. Suhas Subramanyam, a Virginia Democrat, said the Justice Department had become Trump's "own personal law firm." ² Lucas's attorneys called the press conference "highly unusual." ² The charges are allegations, not findings of guilt.

That matters because the midterm election is Tuesday, Nov. 3, and certification is the last step that turns votes into winners. Blanche's answer was not an announced plan. But the head of the department did not close the door on federal involvement at that step, and no federal law gives the department that role. Whether he would try to use it is unanswered.

What to watch next: whether the department files more suits against states over voter rolls, and whether any official says what the doomsday scenario would be. The department has not said. ¹

The Record

1. Oct 20, 2026NBC News reports the Justice Department is weighing more election-related lawsuits against states, after suing California over 18,000 registered voters ¹
2. Oct 22, 2026Blanche says he will not rule out Justice Department involvement in state certification in a 'doomsday' scenario ¹
3. Nov 3, 2026Midterm election day

Sources

1. NBC News, “Blanche won’t rule out DOJ post-election action in a ‘doomsday’ scenario” (2026-10-22). nbcnews.com/politics/justice-department/blanche-wont-rule-do
2. NBC News, “High-ranking Virginia state Democrat charged in public corruption case” (2026-10-22). nbcnews.com/politics/justice-department/virginia-state-senat

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