Atlanta — On Sunday, a major new New York Times investigation detailed the likely next phase of the Trump election “takeover” effort. It identifies several swing states where the strategy could escalate and where Trump’s allies are already moving to exert greater control over election systems.

The report outlines how a network of election deniers, political operatives, and government officials connected to Trump’s efforts to overturn his 2020 loss are targeting states, including Michigan, North Carolina, Arizona, and Pennsylvania. At the center of this network is the Election Integrity Network, the organization founded by Trump attorney Cleta Mitchell that has spread false election claims and organized pressure campaigns aimed at reshaping election rules in those states.

Just one day after the New York Times story was published, new reporting revealed that the FBI had secretly obtained “terabytes” of election records from a controversial review of Arizona’s Maricopa County through a grand jury subpoena, expanding its probe into election administration in another major swing state. The news of this federal overreach was confirmed in a post by Trump, underscoring the rapid, real-world development of the plan to “take over” elections.

Together, these developments show an escalating national strategy: create allegations about election irregularities, use them to justify federal intervention, and shift control over election administration away from local officials.

“The same people who spent years spreading lies about the 2020 election are now trying to rewrite the rules for 2026. By flooding the zone with restrictive voting policies, manufactured fraud claims, lawsuits seeking voter data – and abusing their newly-granted federal power to drive it all forward,” said Karol Molinares, spokesperson for Fair Fight Action. “What we’re seeing is a coordinated effort by election deniers to strip authority away from trusted, local election officials and seize control of how elections are run before a single vote is cast.”

Why The NY Times Investigation Matters 

• The reporting highlights a coordinated effort to reshape election administration by abusing federal power to advance sham “fraud” investigations. Taken together, the strategy is coming into focus: control who runs elections, how ballots are counted, and which votes are challenged.
• The progression from the FBI raid on Fulton County to the new secret subpoena in Arizona serves as clear, alarming evidence of how Trump's takeover plot is rapidly advancing. These actions represent a dramatic escalation of federal overreach to interfere with state-run elections. No president has abused federal criminal investigations in this way to obtain ballots and election materials years after an election.
• The same election deniers who spread false claims about the 2020 election are now operating inside the government or coordinating with federal officials. Known conspiracy theorists have now been empowered in positions to change rules and advance a plan to take over the 2026 midterms.
• The focus has been on battleground states that could determine control of the House of Representatives.
• These coordinated efforts are actively creating a chilling effect among voters. After Trump singled out major cities with large Black populations like Philadelphia, Detroit, and Atlanta, officials are hearing from constituents concerned that "we're not even going to have an election.”

KEY POINTS:

Swing States Early Signs:

• The New York Times identifies a short list of prime targets where conditions are ripe for meddling from the Trump administration, including Michigan, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, and Arizona.
• The day after the story was published, reporting revealed that the FBI had quietly executed a grand jury subpoena to seize election data from a controversial review of Maricopa County’s 2020 ballots. The move follows the extraordinary January FBI raid on a Fulton County, Georgia election warehouse, which relied on debunked claims about the 2020 race.
  
  • Michigan: A group of right-wing activists has obtained about 150,000 absentee ballots and envelopes from Detroit’s 2020 election and is building its own database to hunt for supposed irregularities. Volunteers have openly said they are looking for “parallels” with Fulton County, the Georgia election center that was later targeted by the FBI.
  • Pennsylvania: The leader of a network that promoted false fraud claims about the 2020 election, Heather Honey, now holds a senior federal role overseeing election integrity at the Department of Homeland Security. At the same time, Trump has revived baseless accusations of corruption against Philadelphia, which local officials warn is fueling fear among voters.
  • North Carolina: Republican lawmakers used a hurricane relief bill to strip the governor of control over state and county election boards and transfer that authority to the Republican state auditor. The newly structured boards have already removed polling locations at universities including North Carolina A&T, a historically Black institution.
  • Arizona: Maricopa County Recorder Justin Heap has embraced election-denial rhetoric and is seeking control over early voting operations and ballot tabulation. At the same time, the FBI’s subpoena for Maricopa County election records signals that the federal investigation tied to the Fulton raid is expanding.

Election Deniers Are Rewriting Rules from the Inside

• The New York Times and other reporting show that a tight network of election deniers and political operatives tied to Cleta Mitchell’s Election Integrity Network (EIN) has become a central organizing hub behind these efforts.
• Many of the same figures who promoted false claims about the 2020 election now hold positions of influence inside government or are coordinating directly with officials shaping election policy.
  
  • Nationally, Cleta Mitchell’s Election Integrity Network has operated as a hub linking activists, lawyers, and government officials pushing election conspiracy theories and election rule changes. They worked behind the scenes to push election rule changes through Georgia’s State Election Board that a judge later blocked as “illegal,” and is linked to the information the DOJ relied on. 
  • In Pennsylvania, Heather Honey, the leader of a network of election deniers,  now serves as the federal government’s top election integrity official at the Department of Homeland Security.
  • In Arizona, Maricopa County’s Republican Recorder, Justin Heap, frequently uses right-wing "election integrity" talking points and is actively locked in a legal battle to seize control of in-person early voting and ballot tabulation from the county board of supervisors.
  • In Georgia, the Fulton County raid relied heavily on a lengthy report by conservative activist Kevin Moncla, whose fraud claims had already been discredited by state investigators. Even far-right media lawyers have referred to him as a “known fabricator.”

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