Democracy Forward, a legal organization aligned with liberal causes, has gone to federal court in Washington, D.C., on behalf of four plaintiffs — the League of United Latin American Citizens, Common Cause, UnidosUS and the city of Denver — hoping to stop armed federal personnel from showing up at voting sites before November's election, CBS News reports.
Filed Thursday, the preemptive suit targets the Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, naming both agencies as defendants together with their leaders, Markwayne Mullin and David Venturella.
What the plaintiffs want is a judicial declaration that any arrangement placing armed agents at polling locations is illegal, plus an order barring federal officers from bringing weapons to voting sites or anywhere ballots are gathered.
At the heart of the complaint is a federal statute under which it is a crime for officials to supervise or authorize sending "any troops or armed men" to "any place where a general or special election is held," with an exception only when the move is required to fight off "armed enemies of the United States."
According to the filing, the mere possibility of armed officers stationed at the polls endangers the integrity of the coming election and leaves voters worried they could face armed federal law enforcement when they go to cast a ballot.
While figures in the MAGA orbit such as Steve Bannon have urged ICE to ring the polls, administration officials have said no concrete deployment is planned, though they have stopped short of ruling out agents appearing at voting sites in certain scenarios, per CBS News.
Speaking at a New York City news conference earlier this month, DHS Secretary Mullin stated that ICE's role does not include patrolling polling places. He added, however, that agents might be present if a site faces a threat, or while carrying out a warrant for a person they have been pursuing. Pressed further, Mullin said agents executing a warrant will go wherever the job requires.
Within ICE, the deportation arm handles locating, arresting, detaining and removing people who came into the U.S. unlawfully or broke federal immigration law in other ways. The agency's Homeland Security Investigations division was traditionally tasked with taking down criminal networks operating internationally, but it has taken on a growing role in immigration enforcement and in probes of alleged voter fraud.
Gen. Dan Caine, who chairs the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has stated that there are no military plans to send troops or National Guard members to polling locations.
The source account includes no official reaction from the Department of Homeland Security or ICE.
This article was generated by AI and reviewed by a human editor.