Experts say Trump administration moves to curb voting access could broaden legal and enforcement fights ahead of 2026 elections

President Donald Trump’s administration is pursuing what election experts and former election officials describe as a broad-front campaign to reshape voting procedures, including through Justice Department litigation and FBI-related investigations, according to a report published June 16 by The Guardian. The outlet described multiple parallel actions aimed at altering how Americans register, vote, and cast ballots, with particular emphasis on absentee and mail voting rules.

The Guardian said the administration’s approach relies on federal enforcement tools to pressure changes at the state level. It reported that the Justice Department has filed lawsuits designed to challenge election rules, and that the FBI is involved in investigation activity linked to voting-related concerns. The report also pointed to a Trump executive order that it said would limit the use of mail voting, while raising questions among experts about the legality and practical effects of trying to modify election administration through executive and federal-legal channels.

Election specialists interviewed by The Guardian said they are alarmed by what they described as the installment of election-denialist-aligned officials in key roles. The outlet did not cite specific personnel decisions in its description, but it characterized the administration’s election posture as mirroring Trump’s longstanding claims that he lost the 2020 presidential election because of voting fraud, a claim that has been rejected in court proceedings and by official election certifications.

The practical effects of the administration’s efforts, as described by The Guardian, would flow through court schedules, election-administration timelines, and the operational rules states apply for absentee voting. If federal litigation changes requirements close to Election Day, state election officials may face shortened deadlines for implementation, ballot programming, and voter guidance, experts told the outlet. The report said that even where changes are ultimately stayed or narrowed, the compliance and legal costs can fall on states and local jurisdictions.

The Guardian also described a legal and administrative theme: the administration is using federal authority to drive changes in how elections are run, including by attacking state voting policies through federal lawsuits and investigative activity. Experts quoted by the outlet said this strategy risks turning state election rule-making into a recurring federal enforcement matter, raising due process questions for voters and candidates whenever enforcement actions or court orders interfere with settled election processes.

No comprehensive list of the lawsuits, investigation targets, or the executive order’s detailed provisions was included in the published description alone. The next steps, as framed by the experts cited by The Guardian, depend on how courts resolve federal challenges and how states adapt to any changes ordered or implied by the administration’s actions. In the meantime, election administration authorities, courts, and voters face increased uncertainty around ballot access requirements and the timing of any rule adjustments.