Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia and Rep. Jim Himes of Connecticut described the planning Wednesday, saying they had considered about 50 possible scenarios. Himes said they had told Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton and CIA Director John Ratcliffe to be reachable if the president makes an allegation on Election Day.

“We’re making the assumption that the president is not going to accept the results of what looks to be a very challenging election for him and his party,” Himes said.

The lawmakers said they are concerned a claim of foreign interference could be used to undermine confidence in the vote or justify an attempt to assert control over elections. Warner said they want to head off the possibility that a fabricated or isolated piece of intelligence could be used to support illegal action.

Himes described a hypothetical in which Trump announces that Iran is interfering with the election. Himes said he would publicly state whether he had received briefings or information supporting that claim. He stressed that such a response would not end a crisis, but could be an initial step toward addressing it.

The Democrats distinguished between interference—such as tampering with voter rolls or trying to alter results—and efforts to influence voters, including through social media. Himes said lawmakers are “not seeing either the capability or the intent to interfere.” He also said the intelligence community had not provided lawmakers with a legally required pre-election report on election threats.

In a July letter, Himes and three other Democratic House members said an intelligence report on election vulnerabilities and foreign threats, due May 7, had not been delivered. The Office of the Director of National Intelligence did not respond to questions about the matter.

The White House defended Trump’s approach. Spokeswoman Lauren Bis said the administration was working to protect elections, prosecute election crimes and hold accountable people who vote illegally. Trump has raised concerns about alleged Chinese interference, including in a July televised address, and the White House released declassified intelligence reports on voting-machine vulnerabilities. Election-security experts criticized the speech, noting that the country’s decentralized election system makes widespread interference difficult. All states except Louisiana use paper ballots or produce a paper record for each ballot, according to data compiled by Verified Voting.

The lawmakers’ concerns come as the federal government’s election-security capacity has been reduced. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, which assists state and local election officials, has lost roughly a third of its workforce since Trump began his second term. The Department of Homeland Security has also proposed eliminating CISA’s $39 million election-security program.

Jennifer Morrell, head of the nonpartisan Elections Group, said the cuts had weakened years of work to build cyber and physical security. She and other election administrators said state and local officials have tried to replace some federal support, but cannot independently collect intelligence about threats from foreign governments.

Large jurisdictions may have their own cybersecurity teams, but smaller counties often have fewer resources. Cook County Clerk Monica Gordon said her office had access to advanced tools to protect voter information, while expressing concern about less-resourced counties. Tammy Patrick of the Election Center said election officials are relying more heavily on state resources and nonprofit organizations as federal support changes.

On Wednesday, Himes and Rep. Bennie Thompson of Mississippi asked Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin to brief lawmakers on election security. They wrote that state and local officials are under significant pressure this election cycle. The department did not respond to questions.