Attorneys at the U.S. Justice Department are quietly examining potential legal avenues for the Trump administration to prosecute election officials who undermine accurate vote counting through negligence or incompetence, according to sources familiar with the matter.

While such action would be unprecedented, officials working under U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi believe that the prospect of criminal charges is necessary to compel state and local officials to uphold their duties with the seriousness the process demands.

Federal charges could be pursued if officials determine that electronic vote tabulation machines are poorly calibrated or inadequately secured against hacking threats. The concern echoes longstanding criticisms from 2020, when former Trump attorneys and advisers alleged that Dominion Voting Systems machines contributed to his loss by producing inaccurate results.

There is no new executive order, legal authority, or specific threat driving the current investigation. Instead, officials point to a widely held belief among conservatives that elections remain vulnerable and are an easy target for manipulation.

While federal law has traditionally offered only a general framework for conducting fair elections, the responsibility for administering them has long rested with state and local officials.

In recent days, senior officials have directed Justice Department attorneys to examine whether state or local election officials who fail to comply with electronic security standards for voting machines could face criminal charges. The inquiry is focused on determining whether such failures could constitute criminal negligence or mismanagement of the election process.

The directive has led Justice Department officials to reach out to election authorities nationwide as they gather detailed information on how votes are processed—both those arriving by mail in advance and those cast on Election Day. A spokesman for the agency told the New York Times that it “will leave no option off the table when it comes to promoting free, fair and secure elections.”

The move comes on the heels of FBI Director Kash Patel’s announcement that he is reopening an investigation into allegations that Chinese nationals attempted to vote in the 2020 election.

Patel contends that former FBI Director Christopher Wray failed to act on credible warnings about an alleged scheme to register Chinese nationals using fake driver’s licenses bearing the names of real U.S. voters. According to Patel’s testimony before Congress last month, the warning signs were overlooked—even after border officials intercepted more than 10,000 counterfeit licenses destined for the United States.