Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche Won't Rule Out DOJ Intervention in State Election Certification, Citing a Hypothetical 'Doomsday Scenario'
U.S. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche told reporters in Norfolk, Virginia, on October 22 that he would not rule out the Justice Department intervening in states' certification of midterm election results in a hypothetical 'doomsday scenario,' while insisting the department has no intention of improperly interfering in elections, according to NBC News. Blanche spoke to reporters before boarding a plane after appearing with FBI Director Kash Patel at a news conference announcing the indictment of Virginia State Senator Louise Lucas.
Asked whether the Justice Department could seek to delay ballot counting or block a state from certifying its results, Blanche said: 'Of course there's scenarios that we could all come up with hypothetically — some doomsday scenario, for example. So I don't think it's proper to make any kind of conclusory statements about what's going to happen in the future, because I don't know what's going to happen in the future.' Pressed on whether he could say there were no circumstances under which the department would get involved, he said: 'Of course I'm not going to say that. But am I planning my days around the election to be somewhere to not certify? Of course not, no.' He added: 'I'm not trying to not have an election certified. Of course not. What we're trying to do is guarantee to the American people that the only people that are voting are people that are eligible to vote.' He said the department was 'not trying to create chaos' but wanted to alert officials to potential problems.
Blanche also said the department was considering California-style lawsuits over ballot counting against more states: 'There's a number of states that we're looking at.' The Justice Department has sued California and Los Angeles County, seeking to have mail ballots cast by voters the federal government says may be noncitizens set aside until their eligibility is confirmed, and has appealed that case to the Ninth Circuit.
Under the U.S. Constitution and federal law, elections are run by state and local officials, who are also responsible for certifying results; federal law does not expressly authorize the Justice Department to challenge ballots or delay a state's certification, and the department's election role is mainly limited to protecting civil rights and prosecuting individual violations. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer responded on X that Senate Democrats 'have been preparing for this for months and will be ready,' adding: 'Our elections must always belong to the voters — not Donald Trump.' Early voting for the November 3 midterms is already under way in many states.
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：美国司法部副部长 Todd Blanche 官方肖像，美国司法部发布（公共领域），经 Wikimedia Commons。Photo: Official portrait of U.S. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, U.S. Department of Justice (public domain), via Wikimedia Commons.
