Duckworth, Markey, Colleagues Raise Alarm About Trump’s Threats to Send ICE, Other Federal Agents to Polling Sites During November Elections

Duckworth, Markey, Colleagues Raise Alarm About Trump's Threats to Send ICE, Other Federal Agents to Polling Sites During November Elections

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - Today, U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) joined U.S. Senator Edward J. Markey (D-MA) and 10 colleagues in demanding answers on whether the Trump Administration plans to deploy armed federal law enforcement officers at polling sites during the November 2026 elections. Beginning in October 2025, the Democratic National Committee submitted 11 Freedom of Information Act requests seeking records concerning the possible deployment of federal law enforcement officers to polling places, ballot-drop locations and election offices. During ensuing litigation, ICE first represented that it had located no responsive records. But earlier this month, after its searches were challenged, ICE acknowledged finding more than 11,000 potentially responsive pages and U.S. Customs and Border Protection said it had turned up almost 117,000 records. These belated disclosures reinforce the fear that the Administration is planning a potentially unlawful, illegal and unconstitutional intrusion into the November election.

In a letter to Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, the Senators wrote, "In May, when President Trump was asked whether he would send the National Guard or ICE to polling places in November, he refused to rule it out, responding: 'I'd do anything necessary to make sure we have honest elections.' And earlier this month, President Trump delivered a prime-time address to the nation in which he repeated outlandish falsehoods about the 2020 election, continuing to sow doubts about voting integrity ahead of the mid-terms. President Trump's statements, coupled with his repeated threats to invoke the Insurrection Act - which authorizes the president to deploy military forces inside the United States to suppress rebellion or domestic violence - only heighten concerns."

The Senators continued, "Congress has enacted longstanding criminal prohibitions against sending federal personnel to polling places and using federal power to interfere with elections. For example, federal law makes it a crime for a federal official to bring or keep troops or armed personnel at a place where an election is held. Americans should never have to wonder whether the federal government intends to police the ballot box with armed agents. Yet that is precisely what the Trump Administration appears to be considering, if not planning. The Administration now has a choice. It can continue to fuel the appearance that it is laying the groundwork for an unprecedented federal intrusion into state-run elections, or it can finally provide Congress and the American people with the transparency they deserve."

The Senators requested the following information by August 11, 2026:

• Will any federal law enforcement officers or troops be deployed to or near any polling place or other election sites during the November 2026 election? If so, identify who, where, under what authority and for what purpose.
• Who directed or authorized discussions concerning the possible deployment of federal law enforcement officers or troops to polling places or other election sites? Identify every meeting or communication concerning this subject involving your Department or agency and the White House, the Executive Office of the President, Stephen Miller, other presidential advisers or any other federal entity.
• Produce all records concerning the possible deployment of federal law enforcement personnel or troops to polling places or other election sites, including legal memoranda, operational plans, policy guidance, emails, text messages, meeting notes, directives and communications with the White House or other federal entities.

Along with Duckworth and Markey, the letter was signed by U.S. Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and U.S. Senators Gary Peters (D-MI), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Andy Kim (D-NJ), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD), Raphael Warnock (D-GA), Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and Maria Cantwell (D-WA).

Full text of the letter is available on Senator Duckworth's website.

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