Democrats sue Trump admin to keep armed agents from polls during midterms
Democrats sue Trump admin to keep armed agents from polls during midterms
Allison BloomThu, September 24, 2026 at 5:47 PM UTC
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Key plaintiffs backing the litigation include Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries -Credit:Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
In response to potential threats of armed federal agents being unlawfully assigned to polling stations during the upcoming midterm elections, Democratic Party leaders and campaign groups filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration on Wednesday.
Filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, the action alleges that immigration and law enforcement officials within the administration have shown "by word and deed that they have established a policy of permitting their armed officers to appear at active polling sites."
Key plaintiffs backing the litigation include Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), as well as the Democratic Governors Association and the Democratic campaign committees representing both houses of Congress.
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“The mere prospect of encountering armed federal agents — combined with the fact that voters will likely be unable to confirm that federal armed agents are not present — is sufficient to intimidate many voters into staying home,” lawyers for the Democrats wrote.
Legal counsel for the plaintiffs cited statements by Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin at a September 1 press conference, in which he asserted that federal agents would be present at voting sites only to address a threat or execute a warrant.
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Legal counsel for the plaintiffs cited statements by Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin at a September 1 press conference -Credit:NATHAN J. FISH/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
“DHS’s most recent statements confirm the existence of an agency policy that authorizes sending ICE [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] officers to polling locations, so long as the agency either identifies a supposed ‘threat,’ is seeking to serve a warrant, or is engaged in routine immigration enforcement activities,” the attorneys wrote in their filing.
Though the Trump administration hasn’t made any official plans to dispatch federal agents to polling places this November, they also haven’t ruled out the possibility entirely.
Democratic concern first arose in February following President Trump's call to “nationalize the voting.”
Democrats referenced previous incidents of federal agents appearing at polling places during primary and runoff contests. For example, the legal filing highlights a June incident where multiple ICE officers approached a Syracuse, N.Y., election worker at a voting site to question her regarding online statements critical of the agency.
FBI Director Kash Patel testifies during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing in the Hart Senate Office Building on September 15, 2026 in Washington, DC. -Credit:Getty Images
In addition, legal counsel for the Democratic plaintiffs cited testimony given last week to the Senate Judiciary Committee by FBI Director Kash Patel. During the hearing, Democratic committee members urged the director to promise that FBI personnel would not be deployed to polling locations this November.
Patel said that the agency would “follow the law.”
“If there’s a reason to go there because there’s been a violation of law, we will,” he said. “Otherwise, we won’t.”
Similar lawsuits have been brought in recent weeks by the city of Denver, labor unions, and voting rights groups.
Source: “AOL General News”
