The American Civil Liberties Union announced plans to spend more than $50 million on the 2026 midterm elections, with a significant portion dedicated to monitoring ballot counting and election certification processes across key battleground states. The organization said it represents its largest-ever electoral investment and includes deploying over 100 paid staff members and more than 3,000 volunteer leaders to encourage voter participation while observing canvassing procedures.
The effort targets Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin — all states considered critical to national elections. The ACLU said it has already trained 5,000 people on election work and plans to train an additional 5,000 before November. Deidre Schifeling, the ACLU's chief political and advocacy officer, described widespread monitoring of canvass and certification processes as a new initiative for the organization.
What the Left Is Saying
Civil liberties advocates argue the expanded monitoring represents a necessary response to what they characterize as unprecedented attempts to interfere with election administration. Schifeling said the organization sees the current moment as requiring heightened vigilance given actions by the Trump administration. 'We are in a really unprecedented situation here with this administration's abuses of power and concerted attempts to suppress voters, to gerrymander, to basically co-opt our democratic system,' she told NBC News.
The ACLU is currently involved in more than 80 lawsuits across two dozen states and Washington, D.C., concerning voting rights issues including redistricting disputes and mail balloting restrictions. Schifeling said the group has prepared multiple response tools beyond litigation. 'Where it is clear that the administration is undermining the legitimacy of our democratic process and trying to co-opt it or sabotage it, we will be ready to react to that in a variety of ways,' she said, noting potential responses could include legal action, protests or public information campaigns.
The organization has already begun election-monitoring activities on the ground. During last month's Georgia primary, local ACLU affiliates placed monitors in seven counties to observe voting and vote counting. They plan to expand that presence to 30 counties for the November general election. The group describes its down-ballot investments — including state Supreme Court races in Montana and North Carolina and secretary of state contests in Arizona and Nevada — as part of what it calls a 'firewall for freedom strategy.'
What the Right Is Saying
Some conservatives have raised questions about outside groups deploying large-scale monitoring operations during elections. Election integrity advocates within the Republican Party have long argued that transparency efforts should focus on ensuring accurate vote counts rather than influencing outcomes, and have expressed concerns that litigation campaigns by advocacy organizations could delay certification processes.
President Trump has advocated for increased federal involvement in election administration, arguing that such steps are necessary to ensure ballot integrity. In February remarks, Trump said Republicans should pursue what he described as nationalizing voting oversight in certain jurisdictions. His administration has signed executive orders addressing voter list maintenance and Postal Service handling of ballots, and his Justice Department has pursued litigation seeking voter roll data from states.
The FBI has obtained 2020 election materials or records from Arizona and Georgia, while the Justice Department demanded 2024 ballots from Wayne County, Michigan. Some Republican-aligned groups argue these actions represent legitimate oversight rather than interference. A senior Department of Homeland Security official told Congress in February that immigration agents would not be present at polling places during the 2026 elections.
What the Numbers Show
The $50 million investment represents the largest single election effort in ACLU history, with half directed toward election administration monitoring and half toward down-ballot races. The organization is prioritizing seven battleground states for its field operations: Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
The deployment includes 100 paid staff members and more than 3,000 volunteer leaders coordinating thousands of additional volunteers. The ACLU has already completed training for 5,000 election workers with plans to train another 5,000 before November. Current litigation includes over 80 active lawsuits across two dozen states plus Washington, D.C., covering redistricting, mail balloting and voter access issues.
Trump's Justice Department has sued 30 states and the District of Columbia seeking voter roll data, a legal effort that has so far been unsuccessful in courts. Federal officials have sought records from multiple battleground states including Arizona, Georgia and Michigan.
The Bottom Line
The ACLU's $50 million commitment reflects heightened concern among voting rights advocates about perceived threats to election administration from the Trump administration. The organization's new focus on monitoring certification processes — rather than just Election Day activities — represents a strategic expansion of its electoral work.
The effort will test whether civil society organizations can effectively deploy large-scale observation operations while maintaining nonpartisan positioning. Both sides view down-ballot races for secretary of state and judicial positions as particularly significant given their authority over election administration. What happens in these states could shape the landscape for future elections regardless of which party controls Congress after November.