Project 2025 seeks to prosecute the election chief of a key swing state over the 2020 vote.

Project 2025 seeks to prosecute the election chief of a key swing state over the 2020 vote.

Project 2025, a conservative agenda aimed at a potential second Trump administration, advocates for the Justice Department to "investigate and prosecute" Pennsylvania's top election official over the 2020 election as part of a sweeping overhaul of federal law enforcement.

This represents an unprecedented threat to a specific statewide officeholder—the Democratic election chief of Pennsylvania—a critical swing state where Donald Trump and his allies made significant efforts to overturn Joe Biden’s 2020 victory. Winning Pennsylvania is crucial for Trump’s bid to reclaim the presidency in November.

While the policy blueprint does not explicitly name its intended Pennsylvania target, Kathy Boockvar was the only person serving as commonwealth's secretary in 2020. Boockvar has defended her department's actions, asserting to USA TODAY that they "absolutely" did nothing wrong and accusing Project 2025 of using misinformation and conspiracy theories to undermine U.S. institutions.

Project 2025's proposals include a radical expansion of executive power, dismantling civil service protections for federal workers, and targeting what it describes as "woke culture warriors." Most authors of the project have ties to Trump’s administration.

The plan suggests reducing federal civil rights enforcement and redirecting the Justice Department to investigate alleged fraud in state voter registrations. It argues that these changes would facilitate prosecuting Pennsylvania’s top election official for guiding how voters could cast ballots if their mail-in ballots were rejected.

Pennsylvania’s current elections chief, Al Schmidt, has criticized ongoing debates over the 2020 election results, emphasizing the need to move forward.

The Heritage Foundation, which developed Project 2025, did not respond to requests for comment. Its president, Kevin Roberts, described the policies in the 900-page document as the conservative movement’s “best effort” and “the next conservative president’s last opportunity to save our republic.”

The foundation has influenced multiple Republican administrations and previously highlighted Trump’s endorsement of its past policies. Of the project's 38 authors and editors, at least 31 have connections to Trump’s administration.

Trump has attempted to distance himself from Project 2025 amid a backlash against its more radical recommendations. Trump campaign advisor Danielle Alvarez dismissed Democratic criticisms as “fear-mongering,” asserting that only Trump’s 20 promises and the RNC Platform represent his endorsed policies for a second term.

Project 2025 also calls for a significant restructuring of the Justice Department, including removing civil service protections from long-serving nonpartisan prosecutors and reorganizing the Civil Rights Division. Critics, such as Jon Greenbaum and Justin Levitt, have condemned these proposals as a dangerous politicization of the DOJ.

The plan suggests investigating voter registration fraud and scrutinizing state election guidance on provisional ballots, used when poll workers cannot immediately verify a voter's registration. Project 2025 argues that Pennsylvania's 2020 guidance on provisional votes was illegal and attempts to "circumvent state law."

Boockvar and the Pennsylvania Department of State have rejected these allegations, stating that the guidance was legal and optional and asserting that Project 2025 aims to disenfranchise Pennsylvania voters.