Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., the ranking member of the Senate Rules and Administration Committee, said federal troops and immigration agents have no place at polling locations ahead of November’s midterm elections. Padilla’s post came on X on Aug. 24.
Padilla: “NO ICE at Our Polling Sites”
“NO to federal troops, federal law enforcement, and most especially, NO ICE at our polling sites,” Padilla wrote.
Trump Has Declined to Rule Out Sending Troops or ICE to Polls
Padilla’s statement follows repeated comments from President Donald Trump refusing to rule out deploying the National Guard or ICE agents to polling locations in November. Asked directly on May 12 by PBS NewsHour White House correspondent Liz Landers whether he would send the National Guard or ICE to voting locations, Trump did not rule it out, replying, according to Landers’ own account of the exchange: “Well you know what. I’d do anything necessary to make sure we have honest elections. We have to have honest elections.” Trump separately told New York Times reporters in January that he regretted not ordering the National Guard to seize voting machines in swing states after his 2020 election loss.
DHS Official Told State Officials ICE Would Not Be at Polling Places
A Department of Homeland Security official, Deputy Assistant Secretary Heather Honey, told secretaries of state on a February call that ICE agents would not be deployed to polling places for the midterms, according to Votebeat, which reported on the call. “Any suggestion that ICE is going to be present at polling places is simply disinformation,” Honey said. Some officials on the call remained skeptical; one told Votebeat, “I’ll believe it when I see it.”
Padilla Co-Sponsored Bill Requiring Congressional Approval Before Any Deployment
Padilla joined seven other Senate Democrats in June introducing the Protect Our Polls Act, which would require Congress to approve any deployment of federal troops or armed law enforcement to polling locations in advance. “The right to vote is the foundation of our democracy,” Padilla said in the bill’s announcement. “No American should have to pass a line of federal troops, ICE agents, or armed officers to exercise that right.”
Slotkin Separately Pressed Hegseth and Caine for Direct Confirmation
Padilla’s statement came roughly a day after Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., sent letters to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine seeking a direct commitment that the military would not be sent to polling places, according to an official press release from her Senate office. “It is hard to miss that the President is laying the groundwork to send troops to the polls during the midterm elections,” Slotkin wrote.
Federal Law Has Barred Armed Forces From Polls for More Than 150 Years
Federal statute, codified at 18 U.S.C. §§ 592-594, has prohibited sending armed federal troops or law enforcement to polling places since the Reconstruction era, and a 2018 Defense Department directive separately bars National Guard personnel operating under federal Title 32 status from conducting operations at polling sites. Legal scholars at the Lawfare Institute have noted the laws have survived roughly 80 election cycles over more than 160 years without being challenged in this way.
Former White House Adviser Publicly Urged ICE Presence at Polls
Steve Bannon, a former Trump White House adviser, has publicly called for ICE to “surround the polls come November” and urged deployment of the 82nd and 101st Airborne divisions to monitor voting, remarks cited in reporting on the broader debate over military and law enforcement involvement in the midterms.
Hegseth Avoided Directly Answering Whether He Would Refuse Such an Order
When asked whether he would refuse an order to deploy troops to polling places during the midterms, Hegseth avoided answering directly and instead falsely claimed troops had been deployed to polling places in 15 states under President Joe Biden, according to Lawfare’s reporting on the exchange.
Justice Department Has Separately Deployed Poll Monitors
The Justice Department has said it will deploy roughly 1,000 poll monitors during the midterms, a separate program from military or immigration enforcement personnel. Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon told Bloomberg the department had already deployed more than 75 monitors across five states during the primary season.
Poll Found Sharp Partisan Divide Over National Guard at Polls
A March NPR/PBS News/Marist poll of 1,591 U.S. adults found 46% supported the idea of National Guard personnel monitoring polling places in the midterms, compared with 54% opposed, with the topline figure obscuring a sharp partisan split: 75% of Democrats and 61% of independents opposed the idea, while 73% of Republicans supported it. Florida State University election law professor Michael Morley told NPR that heightened concern about the Iran war and a recent attempted terrorist bombing in New York could make some Americans more receptive to a National Guard presence at polls than they otherwise would be.
Padilla Has Repeatedly Criticized Trump’s Election-Related Actions
Padilla, California’s former secretary of state, has issued a series of statements throughout 2026 criticizing what he has called the administration’s efforts to “take over and rig” elections, including a March statement opposing a Trump executive order aimed at mail-in voting procedures that Padilla called “a blatant, unconstitutional abuse of power.”