A week later, during the Conservative Political Action Conference, who is now acting attorney general Todd Blanche he approved the idea of ICE at the polls and repeated the conspiracy theory about non-citizens voting as an excuse to deploy ICE. “Why is there opposition to sending ICE officers to polling places?” he asked. “Illegals can’t vote. It doesn’t make any sense.”
When asked about her thoughts on ICE being sent to the election, White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said, “President Trump has been clear: Protecting our elections and making sure that only American citizens vote in American elections is the number one priority.”
Similarly, a DHS spokesperson referred WIRED to Mullin’s comments, adding, “The election is for the American people, not illegal aliens, to choose their leaders.”
Elections, as stipulated by the US Constitution, have always been run by the states, and despite Trump and his allies wanting elections to be held.to be nationalized,” that will remain the case through the 2026 midterms. Deploying ICE, the National Guard, or any other armed federal agents to polling places is illegal. under US law.
The political message, however, has left election officials and voters uncertain about what will happen next.
“I think the administration’s track record is that, as much as I reassure people and tell them that we got that assurance (that ICE will not be in polling places), I’m not sure how much they believe,” says the director of elections from an eastern state. “I am not sure that the administration itself knows the direction it will go, but we are preparing for all situations.” The director asked not to be named out of fear of retribution from the government and concerns that federal election funds could be withheld.
In Maine, Secretary of State Shenna Bellows sought assurances from the state in writing, send a letter to DHS in March seeking confirmation that ICE would not be sent to the election. The letter was signed by eight other secretaries of state. Months later, Bellows still hasn’t received a response.
“We haven’t received any satisfactory assurances from the federal government, but we don’t expect any,” says Bellows. “Donald Trump cannot invade our polling places, take our votes, or control our elections just because he wants to. The Constitution and federal laws could not be clearer that the states, not the federal government, are in charge of elections.”
Maine is one of several states The Department of Justice has to be prosecuted on their refusal to provide access to unredacted voter lists. Last September, the state filed a lawsuit against Bellows, alleging that in her capacity as secretary of state, Maine did not follow the National Voter Registration Act. Bellows has filed a motion to dismiss the case.
Like many other election directors, Bellows and his colleagues are planning events they have never imagined before. “Election officials are the best emergency planners in the world,” says Bellows. “In the past, we have planned for natural disasters, blackouts, for, more recently, bomb threats, and we have been able to manage successful elections.”
