The Russian oligarch who bankrolled Donald Trump Jr.’s wedding parties
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What are election officials doing to protect voting systems before the midterms?
Good morning. After President Trump fails to change the rules for mail-in ballots, Reuters speaks to state officials who are still concerned about the upcoming elections. They're public
servants, and they're just trying to do the right thing. And unfortunately, in the past several years, they've just been subjected to a wave of threats
and harassment. ProPublica looks at the Russian oligarch who helped pay for Donald Trump Jr.' 's wedding celebrations. And for the first time, the U.S. reveals its deployed weapons into space. It's Wednesday, September 16th. I'm Gideon Resnick. This is Apple News Today.
President Trump had sharp words for the Supreme Court yesterday after justices blocked his attempts to impose new restrictions on mail-in ballots. He described it as a big loss for Republicans and wrote that the three members he appointed were, quote, not the people I interviewed to serve. But many state election officials were celebrating the decision. They had argued that changing the rules this close to the midterms would be impossible to execute. Legally, states remain in charge of running their elections, and after this ruling, they now have more clarity on a crucial voting method for millions of Americans. But as Reuters reports, many are still concerned about their elections getting disrupted.
Mike Spector is an investigative reporter. He and his colleagues spoke to over 50 state and local officials across both parties as they prepare for November.
And what we found in our investigation is that election officials at the local level are bracing for legal battles, even threats of violence, cyber attacks, and other issues that might arise as we get to election day and beyond.
How are state and local officials preparing for legal battles and threats?
And some are still preparing for possible next moves by the Trump administration following its Supreme Court defeat. The White House has continued to make debunked claims about voter fraud. They've launched investigations into voter rolls and attempted to obtain confidential voter records from states. Over the past year, the courts have repeatedly blocked some of those efforts, but attempts are ongoing. Recently, the Justice Department sent letters to dozens of states ordering them to preserve 2024 election documents. And back in January, the FBI turned up near Atlanta to search an election office as they pursued Trump's false claims over his 2020 election defeat.
The FBI raid in Fulton County that seized ballots over the 2020 election was a real wake-up call for officials. So, for instance, we found them traveling to different parts of the country and engaging in legal trainings and tabletop exercises so that they're prepared and know what to do if they encounter legal requests or other demands for information or visits from federal officials.
Arizona also handed over records in a similar federal probe. And Homeland Security Secretary Mark Wayne Mullen recently pushed to investigate one widely used type of voting machine, casting doubt on digital voting systems. Specter says all of this has led local officials to prepare for any sudden demands by the administration.
In Michigan, officials are advising local clerks on how to respond if the federal government demands access to voting machines. Across the country, they're bracing for legal battles over everything from ballot seizures to voter fraud investigations.
Other officials expressed concerns about the potential presence of federal agents near voting areas, and there's a lawsuit to preempt any efforts. The Trump administration has repeatedly said there are no plans to dispatch ICE agents to polling booths, and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs said the same about military personnel. More generally, election officials are also preparing for the possibility of harassment, violence, and civil unrest. They told Reuters that after years of Trump claiming without evidence that election results can't be trusted, threats to election workers have skyrocketed, which has required new investments into their safety. In North Carolina, a critical battleground state for control of the Senate, the elections director in Durham County told Specter that they fortified their office.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What are election officials doing to protect voting systems before the midterms?
0:05–1:48
2
How are state and local officials preparing for legal battles and threats?
1:48–4:19
3
Why did a Russian oligarch finance Donald Trump Jr.’s Bahamas wedding?
4:19–5:47
4
Who is Umar Kremlev and what is his connection to Putin’s inner circle?
5:47–7:19
5
What do counter‑intelligence experts say about the Kremlin’s gift to the Trump family?
7:19–8:58
6
How is Canada shifting its economy toward the European Union?
8:58–10:56
7
Why has the United States announced weapons stationed in space?
10:56–12:39
8
What caused the crisis on Ed Sheeran’s tour and the Macklemore controversy?
12:39–13:47
Speakers
1 identifiedMore from Apple News Today
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