President Donald Trump said last week he would consider deploying federal agents to polling locations for the November midterm elections, telling aides, "I would do anything necessary to make sure we have honest elections," before departing for a state visit to China.
The comment is the latest in a series of statements from Trump and his allies about a potential federal presence at voting sites. Election officials across the country report deep unease among voters and poll workers.
WIRED spoke with more than a dozen election officials, including secretaries of state and election directors in various states. Most expressed serious concerns, linking Trump's remarks to a broader campaign against the electoral system itself.
An election director from a western state with 21 years of experience said he has never prepared for federal interference at polling places. "This is completely different," he said. "It's the first time we've had to respond to public questions about ICE agents at polling sites."
Those concerns intensified after the Trump administration deployed ICE agents to cities including Chicago and Minneapolis. Election officials worried those same agents could be redirected to voting locations.
Former White House adviser Steve Bannon amplified the idea on his podcast Feb. 3. "We're going to have ICE surround the polls come November," he said. His remarks followed Trump's call the day before to "nationalize" elections. Bannon added: "Opponents can whine and cry all they want, but we will never again allow an election to be stolen."
The push for ICE deployments rests largely on an unsupported claim that noncitizens vote in significant numbers. Data shows noncitizen voting constitutes an extremely small fraction of ballots cast in U.S. elections.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt stopped short of ruling out ICE deployments when asked about Bannon's claims two days later. She said she had not heard Trump discuss "formal plans" for such deployments.
State election officials, with six months until the midterms, are now coordinating with local law enforcement and county attorneys, and conducting trial runs to prepare for potential federal agent presence.
The Brennan Center for Justice has determined that deploying ICE agents to polling places is illegal. At least one election official has nonetheless begun preparing for a scenario in which they could face arrest.
The Department of Homeland Security told Politico that "ICE is not planning operations targeting polling locations." That position contradicts earlier comments from a Trump homeland security official who suggested ICE agents could be sent. States have also indicated they are prepared to challenge any federal interference in court.
