ACLU to monitor election certification as part of $50 million midterm effort

FIRST ON NBC NEWS2026 Election2026 ElectionACLU to monitor election certification as part of $50 million midterm effortHalf of the group’s spending will go toward ensuring proper administration of elections in key states amid Trump’s efforts to exert greater influence over the process.Listen to this article with a free account00:0000:00The ACLU plans to monitor the ballot-counting and certification process in key battleground states in the midterms.Dominic Valente / Bloomberg via Getty ImagesShareAdd NBC News to GoogleJune 23, 2026, 5:30 AM EDTBy Jane C. TimmThe American Civil Liberties Union will spend more than $50 million on the 2026 midterm election, with half going toward efforts to ensure smooth administration of elections as President Donald Trump seeks to exert more control over the process.Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.In plans shared first with NBC News, ACLU officials said they will train and deploy more than 100 paid staff members and more than 3,000 volunteer leaders to encourage people to vote and to ensure voter access while monitoring ballot counting and certification. Those people will coordinate thousands of other volunteers. The ACLU said it has already trained 5,000 people on election work and plans to train 5,000 more. Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin — all critical battleground states — are expected to receive the bulk of the investment. Widespread monitoring of the canvass and certification is new for the organization, said Deidre Schifeling, the ACLU’s chief political and advocacy officer. “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,” Schifeling said.“Where it is clear that the administration is undermining the legitimacy of our democratic process and trying to co-opt it or sabotage...