Lawsuits ask courts to bar armed federal agents from polling places before the midterms

Federal lawsuits filed in recent weeks ask courts to bar armed federal agents from polling places before the November midterm elections. The administration’s top officials have said agents could be present, while the Department of Homeland Security says it has no plans for operations at polling locations.

The lawsuit reported September 23 was brought by the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, the Democratic Governors Association, Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer and House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries. The Elias Law Group represents them. The defendants are the Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the FBI and their leaders.

What the complaint says

The plaintiffs cite 18 U.S.C. § 592, which bars sending armed troops or agents to polling places, and Section 11(b) of the Voting Rights Act, which bars voter intimidation. They also allege a violation of the Administrative Procedure Act, arguing the policy conflicts with federal law.

The complaint says the administration “stand[s] willing and able to send agents into polling places.” It also states that “dispatching armed federal agents to the polls, or even threatening to do so, is forbidden by federal law.” The emphasis on the words “or even threatening to do so” appears in the original filing.

The plaintiffs want a court order barring the defendants from ordering armed officers near open polling places, including drop boxes and curbside voting locations, or anywhere votes are collected, counted or certified. The order they seek would run from the start of early voting through post-election ballot curing.

Statements from officials

According to Democracy Docket, DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin said in September that ICE agents could make arrests at polling places. President Trump has floated sending agents or troops to polls on multiple occasions, and Attorney General Todd Blanche has repeatedly endorsed deploying agents to election sites, the outlet reported.

DHS has said otherwise. In a statement to the Associated Press, carried by WLRN, the department said people in the country legally have “nothing to fear” and that “ICE is not planning operations targeting polling locations.” A DHS official gave an earlier version of that statement to The Daily Signal in February: “ICE conducts intelligence-driven targeted enforcement, and if an active public safety threat endangered a polling location, they may be arrested as a result of that targeted enforcement action.”

Other lawsuits

A separate lawsuit brought by civil rights groups and labor unions, led by the NAACP, also challenges the administration’s actions around voting, Democracy Docket reported. Democracy Docket’s article did not report any hearing dates or rulings in the Democratic committees’ case.

State laws

New Mexico has already acted. Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed Senate Bill 264 on March 9. It prohibits bringing or ordering military troops or armed federal agents to a polling place or ballot drop box location. It also bars interfering with an election or with an election official, voter, challenger or watcher carrying out their duties.

The Senate passed the bill 26-16 on February 15, and the House passed it 41-26 on February 17. All Democrats voted yes and all Republicans voted no in the Senate. In the House, all 41 yes votes came from Democrats, 26 Republicans voted no, and three members did not vote. The law lets the attorney general, the secretary of state, a county clerk, or a voter affected by intimidation or a polling disruption bring a civil action to enforce it.