Attorney General Todd Blanche defended the Trump administration's move to implement stricter mail voting rules ahead of the midterm elections in an interview with CBS News. He claimed there is significant evidence supporting these measures despite lacking concrete proof that mail-in ballots are more susceptible to fraud than in-person voting with ID requirements. The Justice Department has launched investigations into election practices across multiple states, and Blanche stated they have hundreds of open cases related to voter registration data collection. However, recent studies indicate extremely low rates of actual mail ballot fraud, ranging from 0.0003% to 0.000043%.
Written by the local model on 2026-09-15,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event.
Attorney General Todd Blanche fiercely defended the Trump administration's push to impose tighter mail voting rules just before the midterm elections, telling CBS News in an exclusive interview that the Justice Department is examining election practices in multiple states.
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Department → defend → states
When asked for evidence that the administration's new mail voting rules — which are
due to a series of court orders — would prevent fraud, the attorney general initially said that "there's a lot of evidence," arguing that it was inherently the case that "if you're using mail-in voting, the potential for fraud is greater than in-person voting with ID."Pressed further on what evidence he had that mail voting presents a greater risk of fraud than in-person voting with identification, Blanche maintained there is "a lot of evidence."
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Blanche → ask → evidence
Asked what the evidence was, he responded, "Well, it's common sense."
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it → ask → ?
The attorney general went on to say the government is looking at "multiple states," adding that the review extends far beyond the Justice Department.
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review → go → Department
The comments come as the administration faces several overlapping court fights over its election policies.
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administration → come → policies
A federal judge in Massachusetts issued a preliminary injunction second federal judge blocked the policy on Sunday.
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judge → issue → Sunday
blocking the Postal Service from enforcing new rules for mail ballots, and aOn Monday evening, the Supreme Court declined the administration's request to lift Massachusetts-based U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani's injunction, leaving the new restrictions blocked for the upcoming midterm elections.
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Court → block → elections
The court's order still falls short of resolving the legality of the rule, and the litigation will continue.
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litigation → fall → rule
The rule, adopted Aug. 21, requires that states provide the Postal Service with lists of mail ballot recipients and issue USPS-approved ballot envelopes carrying unique barcodes.
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states → adopt → barcodes
According to the new regulation, USPS could refuse to transmit ballots that fail to meet those requirements.
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that → accord → requirements
Documented election fraud, including mail-ballot fraud, does occur, but researchers have found it to be rare.
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it → include → fraud
For instance, a 2024 Stanford study of roughly 4.5 million voters in Washington state found only 14 ballots that might have been suspiciously cast after a voter's death — about 0.0003% — and determined that even those cases could include matching or clerical errors.
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cases → find → errors
A broader 2025 analysis of the 2016, 2018, 2020 and 2022 elections found roughly four identified cases of mail-ballot fraud for every 10 million mail ballots cast, resulting in an average rate of 0.000043%.
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analysis → find → %
Over the past several months, the Justice Department has also told 29 states and D.C. to preserve 2024 election records, and is now suing for voter-registration data containing sensitive identifiers.
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Department → tell → identifiers
The department has also acknowledged in litigation that unredacted voter data
with the Department of Homeland Security for citizenship checks.
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department → acknowledge → checks
Pressed on those efforts to obtain voter-registration data, Blanche said, "We have hundreds of open investigations into people who are here illegally and who potentially and, in many cases, they've been charged with voting.
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they → press → voting
"
"So, we have hundreds of ongoing investigations where we have identified people who are here illegally or are otherwise not eligible to vote, that have voted," he added.
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he → have → people
"We have some of them [who] have been charged.
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who → have → them
Asked whether information collected from states would be placed into a database, Blanche said he was "not aware of a database," but acknowledged that information being collected would have to be stored and used by agencies within the federal government.
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information → ask → government
"So, yeah, I mean, ... we're not going to just do it and leave it in an office and say, you know, so be it," Blanche said.
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Blanche → mean → office
"So, we would use it to help us understand whether there's people here voting who shouldn't be voting."
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who → use → it
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