Trump allies reportedly consider election interference measures
Reports suggest plans include national emergency declarations and deploying ICE agents to polling stations.
AI-assisted coverage comparison, editor-supervised · How this was made
Trump allies reportedly consider election interference measures
Photograph: The Sunday Guardian Live (embedded from source)
What this story says
- President Donald Trump and his allies are reportedly considering extreme measures to influence the 2026 midterm elections.
- Potential actions discussed include declaring a national emergency and deploying ICE agents to polling stations.
- Legal experts state there is no legal basis for declaring an election emergency to seize ballots or control state election administration.
- Federal law prohibits voter intimidation and the presence of armed individuals at polling stations, with limited exceptions.
Who covered it
Percentages are shares of the 12 outlets carrying a published leaning rating. 2 of the 14 outlets we know ran this story carry no rating and are not counted in them. Coverage measured .
Trust
60/100
Craft
65/100
Hype
45/100
14 sources · methodology
Missing from the right
None of the 12 outlets with a published leaning rating that ran this story are rated right.
A reader who follows the right would not have seen this. We report the absence rather than explain it: outlets choose what to cover for many reasons, and we have no evidence about which one applies here.
Speculation is growing about potential actions by President Donald Trump and his allies aimed at influencing the 2026 midterm elections. Trump has previously alleged widespread voter fraud in elections he won and attempted to overturn the 2020 presidential election results, claims for which no evidence has been presented. When asked about extreme measures he might take, Trump has offered unclear responses, fueling conspiracy theories. Allies have promoted unsubstantiated concerns about voting machines and non-citizen voting.
Among the extreme measures reportedly being considered or promoted by Trump allies are seizing ballot boxes, declaring a national election emergency, or deploying Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to polling stations. Trump himself has made ambiguous statements when questioned about such possibilities, telling one commentator that "stranger things have happened." A draft executive order reportedly circulated last spring suggested declaring a national emergency to grant federal powers over elections, citing Chinese interference, though US intelligence indicates Iran and Russia have been more active in election interference.
Legal experts and opponents of Trump argue that there is no legal foundation for declaring an election emergency to seize ballots or control state election administration. They state that federal law prohibits voter intimidation and the presence of troops or armed individuals at polling stations, with exceptions only for repelling enemies. Some Republican officials have suggested deploying ICE agents to polling stations, while the Department of Homeland Security has stated agents would only go if requested by local law enforcement for situations like bomb threats, not for immigration status verification.
Disagreement on legal basis for emergency powers
Legal experts and opponents of Trump state there is no legal basis for declaring an election emergency to seize ballots or control state election administration, according to CNN. Conversely, allies of Trump, such as Steve Bannon, are reportedly pushing for a national emergency declaration, believing it could grant Trump powers to deploy federal agents to polling stations or seize ballots. The Washington Post reported on a draft executive order from last spring that would declare a national emergency to establish new federal powers over elections.
What the coverage left out
None of the left-rated or centre-rated reports published below mention specific figures or costs associated with any proposed election interference measures. The reports also do not detail any specific legal challenges that have been filed to date regarding these potential actions.
Coverage settled. We checked this 9 times and stopped on 5 Sept 2026, 05:45. The figures above are what it finished at.
How each side covered it
Our own reading of the reporting listed below, written from the outlets’ articles rather than quoted from them. The reasoning is set out on our methodology page.
Left
2 rated outlets
- Reports from outlets rated left led on the potential for President Donald Trump and his allies to interfere in the upcoming midterm elections. CNN's full report noted that "speculation is mounting about what President Donald Trump and his allies might still do to interfere in the coming midterm election." Georgia Public Broadcasting's report focused on how Democrats in Congress are preparing for such interference, aiming to avoid what they view as a failure of imagination that preceded the January 6th attack.
Centre
10 rated outlets
- All eight centre-rated outlets carried a story derived from a CNN analysis that described speculation about President Donald Trump and his allies taking further steps to influence the 2026 mid-term elections. Each digest identified Trump as the figure who has previously alleged widespread voter fraud and who has already taken numerous actions.
- KIFI's full report added detail on possible extreme actions, citing proposals to seize ballot boxes, declare a national election emergency, and deploy ICE agents to polling places. It quoted Republican election lawyer Ben Ginsberg, conservative commentator Wayne Root, and former adviser Steve Bannon, and included opposition comments from Norm Eisen.
- The seven digests did not mention any of the specific measures, the quoted voices, or the legal analysis presented in KIFI's report. They also omitted reference to the draft decree that would have invoked Chinese interference as justification, and they gave no detail on the Maine Republican candidate’s proposal for ICE presence.
Right
0 rated outlets
No outlet rated right ran this story. We watched the coverage until it stopped changing, and none appeared.
Questions about this coverage
- How did the left and right cover Trump allies reportedly consider election interference measures?
- Of the 12 outlets on this story carrying a published leaning rating, 17% are rated left, 83% are rated centre, 0% are rated right. Those percentages are shares of the rated outlets, not of every outlet that ran it, which was 14. The sections above set out what each side emphasised, in its own terms.
- Is Trump allies reportedly consider election interference measures left or right?
- The story itself is neither. What can be counted is who has covered it, and 83% of the 12 rated outlets on it are rated centre — so far this is a story carried mostly by the centre. Coverage of this one has settled, so that is unlikely to move much now.
- Is the coverage of Trump allies reportedly consider election interference measures biased?
- Trump allies reportedly consider election interference measures is one event reported by 14 outlets, and this page does not rate the story as biased or unbiased. What it publishes is the spread: which outlets ran it, where named rating organisations place each of them on the spectrum, and what each side chose to lead with. A leaning rating describes an outlet's record over time, not this article, and the two should not be run together.
- Which side is not reporting Trump allies reportedly consider election interference measures?
- When we first saw this story, outlets rated right had barely covered it. Coverage accretes for hours after an event, so that is where to look rather than a verdict — the split above is the current count, and it is the one to read.
- Which outlets covered Trump allies reportedly consider election interference measures?
- 14 that we know of, every one of them listed further up this page with a link to its own report and to what we hold on the publisher. Nothing here is a summary of somebody else's summary: the outlets are named so the original reporting can be read.
- What extreme measures are reportedly being considered by Trump allies?
- Reports suggest that President Donald Trump and his allies are considering extreme measures to influence the 2026 midterm elections. These potential actions reportedly include declaring a national emergency, deploying ICE agents to polling stations, and seizing ballot boxes or voting machines.
- Is there a legal basis for declaring an election emergency to seize ballots?
- Legal experts and opponents of Trump state that there is no legal basis for declaring an election emergency to seize ballots or control state election administration. Federal law prohibits voter intimidation and the presence of armed individuals at polling stations, with limited exceptions.
- What are the left-rated outlets emphasising in their coverage?
- Left-rated outlets are emphasising the potential for President Donald Trump and his allies to interfere in the upcoming midterm elections. One report focused on how Democrats in Congress are preparing for such interference, aiming to avoid past failures in anticipating election-related threats.
Read it at the source
14 outlets, grouped by the leaning a published rating gives them. Every headline links to the original; an underlined outlet name opens our profile of that publisher.
Left
2- Last-minute doomsday scenarios for the 2026 election (opens CNN in a new tab)
- How Democrats in Congress are preparing for Trump midterm election interference (opens Georgia Public Broadcasting in a new tab)
Georgia Public Broadcasting — is Georgia Public Broadcasting biased? Our profile of this outlet
Centre
10- Last-Minute Scenarios that Could Shake up the 2026 Elections (opens KEZI 9 News in a new tab)
KEZI 9 News — is KEZI 9 News biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Last-Minute Scenarios that Could Shake up the 2026 Elections (opens Local 3 News in a new tab)
Local 3 News — is Local 3 News biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Last-Minute Scenarios that Could Shake up the 2026 Elections (opens KESQ in a new tab)
- Last-Minute Scenarios that Could Shake up the 2026 Elections (opens KEYT in a new tab)
- Last-Minute Scenarios that Could Shake up the 2026 Elections (opens KVIA in a new tab)
- Last-Minute Scenarios that Could Shake up the 2026 Elections (opens KRDO in a new tab)
- Last-Minute Scenarios that Could Shake up the 2026 Elections (opens kioncentralcoast.com in a new tab)
kioncentralcoast.com — is kioncentralcoast.com biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Last-Minute Scenarios that Could Shake up the 2026 Elections (opens KMIZ in a new tab)
Show 2 more
Right
0No outlet in this group ran the story.
Not rated
2- United States Midterm Election 2026: Trump Allies Push ‘Doomsday’ Plans To Seize Control Of November Contest (opens The Sunday Guardian Live in a new tab)
The Sunday Guardian Live — is The Sunday Guardian Live biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Fears Trump May Declare a State of Emergency: – It Is Coming (opens Nettavisen in a new tab)
Nettavisen — is Nettavisen biased? Our profile of this outlet
How did this read?
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