October 1, 2026
FBI agents have searched the office of an Ohio group that supports voter registration efforts, seizing documents and computer files, a board member of the organization said Friday.
The focus of the probe was unclear, but a person familiar with the matter said Friday that investigators were examining potential fraud violations. The person was not authorized to speak publicly about the investigation and spoke on the condition of anonymity.
It's the latest action by the Trump administration connected to voting or election operations in the states, and it comes in a state that is expected to have hotly contested races this fall for governor and U.S. Senate.
Federal agents showed up at the Cleveland office of the Ohio Organizing Collaborative on Thursday and spent hours questioning staff, said Prentiss Haney, a board member of the organization.
Federal agents also went to the homes of people who have worked with the organization, seeking interviews and information about alleged voter fraud, Haney said.
The Justice Department declined to comment on Friday, and a spokesperson for the FBI in Cleveland did not respond to messages seeking comment.
To obtain a search warrant, federal authorities must convince a judge that probable cause of criminal activity exists.
The Justice Department during President Donald Trump's second term has launched several legal actions or investigations related to voting or state election operations.
The FBI has seized ballots and other records from the 2020 election in Georgia’s Fulton County and Arizona’s Maricopa County and from the 2024 election in Michigan’s Wayne County. It has also been questioning election workers in Wisconsin’s Milwaukee County. All four are in presidential battleground states.
The Justice Department has sued at least 30 states and the District of Columbia after they refused to hand over detailed voter data that includes dates of birth and partial Social Security numbers. It has said in court filings that it wants the information so it can run it through a Department of Homeland Security program that checks U.S. citizenship.
Early in his second term, Trump, a Republican, also ordered the Justice Department to investigate ActBlue, the top fundraising platform for the Democratic Party.
Allegations of fraud in voter registration efforts are typically investigated by states and usually involve people working for groups that pay for sign-ups. Earlier this year, California officials opened an investigation into whether signature-gatherers were offering to pay people for signing a ballot petition. In 2025, Pennsylvania officials brought criminal charges against seven people for submitting fraudulent voter registration forms.
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