A significant Donald Trump ally has made remarks in support of having law enforcement/ICE/military be deployed to polling booths. In February 2026, Steve Bannon encouraged President Trump to deploy military personnel to polling booths in the upcoming election in order to “never allow again an election to be stolen” with the implication being that Donald Trump was deprived of an election win when he lost in 2020. Mr. Bannon has spent much of 2026 advocating for law enforcement to be deployed, even going so far as to recommend the 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions to be used based on the Insurrection Act.
While Mr. Bannon’s comments are certainly extreme, incidents in recent months show that the Administration and its allies around the country may be leaning towards deploying some form of law enforcement at polling booths. Just this month, residents in California have noticed a surge in ICE activity throughout the Central Valley. In Santa Maria, California near the coast in Central California, ICE agents set up a location where a ballot drop box had just opened. They eventually detained a student at Allan Hancock College. The location of the detention is an essential thoroughfare to physically get to where the ballot drop box is located.
This omes on the heels of a federal lawsuit filed in September 2026 by nine civil rights organizations that seek to challenge the Administration’s actions and statements regarding voting in the upcoming mid – term elections. The nine organizations that are the plaintiffs are the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), Mi Familia En Accion, OCA – Asian Pacific American Advocates, the National Urban League, Minnesota 8 (MN8), Service Employees International Union, American Federation of Teachers, International Union of Painters and the United Food and Commercial Workers’ International. They are represented by the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF), Brennan Center for Justice, Latino Justice PRLDEF, the National Immigration Law Center, Protect Democracy and the Democracy Defenders Fund. LEARN MORE
Policy Analysis: The statements that have been coming out from the Trump Administration and his allies have caused a reason for concern among various minority communities for a number of months now. At first, it just seemed to be extreme talk from the Administration and its faction that are still looking for ways to manipulate the American electoral system to their advantage. Even the statements from Steve Bannon could have been easily dismissed. There are federal statutes on the books that explicitly prevent the federal government from deploying armed troops and federal agents anywhere an election is being held. This law dates to 1865 and is still the law of the land so it is concerning that the President and his allies are floating the idea of ICE and other personnel being deployed to polling sites during the mid – terms. It is clearly and explicitly against the law.
Another reason for concern about the talk of using armed law enforcement officials is the fact that ICE is specifically being mentioned. The reason for concern is that by specifically mentioning ICE and no other federal law enforcement or military is that Trump and his allies are implying that the problem with American elections is that there are too many foreign nationals and non – citizens voting. This particular conspiracy theory that is popular with MAGA types and other right wing personalities has been debunked countless times. Non – citizens are not voting in significant numbers in the United States. Yet the right – wing won’t let go of the idea that American elections are being sabotaged by foreign nationals voting illegally. It seems that as long as they keep harping on this issue – even by stating that ICE needs to be deployed at polling sites – that they can make the lie of non – citizens voting somehow a reality.
Finally, the other issue with potentially deploying ICE to polling booths is that it creates a chilling effect. By having immigration officers next to polling sites, it creates an environment that could lead to intimidation and even harassment of voters. ICE will not know who is a citizen or not just by sight so their presence at a polling booth could cause people of color to avoid voting for fear of being harassed by ICE. They may even be citizens with the right to vote but the fear becomes that they will be detained simply because they are black, brown or a group of an ethnic minority.
The lawsuit filed by the nine civil rights organizations has stated they will challenge the Administration’s attempts to deploy ICE and law enforcement near polling booths. So, with roughly three weeks until Election Day we will see if their lawsuit will help prevent the deployment of ICE agents to polling sites. LEARN MORE, LEARN MORE
Take Action
- Democracy Docket – non – profit group’s website discussing potential deployment of ICE at polling stations.
- Brennan Center for Justice – discussion and history of prohibition of armed agents near polling places.
- Protect Democracy – discussion of federal lawsuit challenging Administration’s acts and statements to possibly deploy ICE to polling booths for midterm elections.Keywords: ICE, polling booths, intimidation, harassment, Steve Bannon, military, Santa Maria, California