The NAACP, joined by the National Urban League, the American Federation of Teachers, and other civil rights organizations, filed a federal lawsuit on Friday aiming to bar the Trump administration from stationing armed federal agents at U.S. polling places ahead of the November midterm elections. The suit names the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the Department of Justice (DOJ), the FBI, and several Trump administration officials as defendants.
The legal action seeks to prevent these agencies from “deploying agents in a manner that unlawfully intimidates voters or anyone urging or aiding voters.” In the complaint, the plaintiffs argue that recent statements and actions by the administration have made voters “afraid of appearing at polling places, helping others vote, serving as election volunteers, and advocating for their political beliefs and preferred candidates.”
The lawsuit comes amid heightened concern over the potential for federal law enforcement presence at polling sites. During a Senate hearing earlier this week, Democratic senators pressed FBI Director Kash Patel on whether he would comply with a presidential request to send agents to the polls. Patel acknowledged that federal law generally prohibits armed officers or troops at polling locations but added that he might dispatch agents if there were “a violation of the law.” He stated, “The FBI will follow the law. If there’s a reason to go there because there’s been a violation of law, we will.”
Similarly, DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin testified during his confirmation hearing that his officers would only appear at polling places in response to a specific threat, not for intimidation. The plaintiffs, however, contend that the mere presence of armed federal agents could “expose [voters] to physical violence, surveillance, and harassment if they participate in the electoral process.”
The civil rights groups also allege that such deployments would violate Section 11(b) of the Voting Rights Act, which “broadly prohibits intimidation, threats, and coercion—or attempts to do so—throughout every stage of the voting process, including registering to vote, casting a ballot, and counting votes.”
In response to the lawsuit, a DOJ spokesperson told The Hill on Friday night that the department “has never said it would send federal law enforcement to polling locations. Any suggestion otherwise is fearmongering.” The spokesperson further drew a parallel to the post-Civil War Reconstruction era, when the government sought to “undermine the civic participation of the formerly enslaved population.” The lawyers added, “Fearmongering about ‘illegal voting’ is the modern version of the racist narratives that were used to justify poll taxes, literacy tests, and arbitrary ‘character’ assessments for generations.”
The lawsuit highlights an incident in Lee County, Florida, where officers established an immigration checkpoint on a main access road near a predominantly Black and Latino voting precinct. A DHS spokesperson dismissed allegations of racial profiling as “disgusting, reckless, and categorically FALSE,” asserting that “what makes someone a target for immigration enforcement is if they are illegally in the U.S.—NOT their skin color, race, or ethnicity.” The spokesperson also said that “ICE is not planning operations targeting polling locations” and that any enforcement would be intelligence-driven, potentially leading to arrests only if an active public safety threat endangered a polling site.
This is not the first legal challenge to such plans. Earlier this month, the city of Denver filed a similar lawsuit to block ICE agents from patrolling polling sites, citing a different federal law that prohibits “troops at polls.” Meanwhile, the DOJ has deployed election monitors in recent primaries, including in South Carolina’s GOP runoff and Rhode Island, though these monitors are typically personnel from the Civil Rights Division.
President Trump has not ruled out taking more drastic measures. In August, he left the door open to declaring a national security emergency and federalizing control of the midterms, saying “that stranger things have happened” when asked about the possibility. The NAACP’s lawsuit is part of a broader push by civil rights groups to ensure that the upcoming elections are free from intimidation and that all eligible voters can cast their ballots without fear.
