Padilla, Durbin and Whitehouse Ask AG Blanche to Rule Out Seizing Ballots Before Certification, Answers Due Oct. 29

The letter to Attorney General Todd Blanche is dated October 15, 2026; Sen. Padilla’s office released it on October 16, 2026. It is signed by Sens. Alex Padilla (Ranking Member, Rules and Administration), Dick Durbin (Ranking Member, Judiciary) and Sheldon Whitehouse (Ranking Member, Judiciary subcommittee on federal courts).

The ask: “We urge you to immediately reaffirm that the Department will forgo any actions that would interfere with the lawful administration of the 2026 elections, including the seizure of ballots, election materials, or election equipment prior to the certification of the 2026 midterm elections.” They also asked for “we request that you provide written responses to the following questions by October 29, 2026,” including whether DOJ, the FBI and the Marshals Service will commit not to remove ballots or voting equipment from the custody of state or local election officials while the materials are needed for voting, counting, recounts, contests or certification.

The letter’s text does not name Fulton County, Georgia or the Director of National Intelligence. The press release, in a passage it presents as quoting the letter, lists “DOJ’s seizure of 2020 election materials in Georgia and Arizona”; that wording does not appear in the PDF fetched. The letter recounts FBI Director Kash Patel’s sworn commitment at a September 15 Senate Judiciary hearing not to seize ballots before certification, and adds that “his commitment is contingent on your own.”