States Prepare for Potential ICE Presence at Polling Places

<p>The Trump administration's indications regarding the possible deployment of ICE agents to election polling places this fall have prompted state officials from Maine to Oregon to develop plans to address any actions that could impact voters.</p><p><strong>Why it matters:</strong> Federal law enforcement is prohibited from being present at polling places, and there are restrictions on how close local authorities can be. However, when asked about ICE at polling locations, President Trump stated in May that he would "do anything necessary to make sure we have honest elections."</p><ul><li>Earlier this month, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin mentioned that ICE agents could be present at polling places if they were executing an immigration warrant.</li><li>New Mexico Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver stated, "We would be engaging in malpractice if we didn't prepare for the concern [about ICE agents showing up at polls] and we didn't address it," as reported by Axios.</li></ul><p><strong>The big picture:</strong> State election officials across the country are collaborating with local election officials and state attorneys general to prepare for the possibility of ICE interfering with voting or ballot drop box operations.</p><ul><li>Michigan's deputy secretary of state, Aghogho Edevbie, remarked, "ICE doesn't have a role here. Certainly any ICE activity near a polling location can be considered voter intimidation, and we would take steps to counter that immediately."</li></ul><p><strong>Zoom in:</strong> Toulouse Oliver indicated that her office's preparations for any federal agents are akin to how they would handle other unauthorized individuals at polling places.</p><ul><li>Her office is training local election officials to initially ask any officers to leave the voting area. If necessary, they should then contact the county sheriff, followed by potential legal action against any unauthorized individuals.</li><li>She noted, "An ICE agent is the same as any other unauthorized individual at a polling location, and the same protocols should be followed."</li></ul><p><strong>What they're saying:</strong> Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows stated, "If the Trump administration were to go down that path, the individuals involved would be committing crimes," while describing a similar protocol in her state.</p><ul><li>She added, "The coordination between secretaries of state, clerks, attorneys general, and partners at every level is very close."</li></ul><p><strong>Zoom out:</strong> Election officials typically prepare for various disruptions during election season.</p><ul><li>Bellows mentioned that she has dealt with several instances of "swatting" at polling places, which refers to false emergency calls aimed at interrupting voting.</li><li>Oregon Secretary of State Tobias Read compared preparations for ICE agents to managing major wildfires during a past election season, stating, "Our system has to deal with all kinds of disasters, not just manufactured ones like the one from the White House right now."</li></ul><p><strong>Colorado's Secretary of State, Jena Griswold,</strong> has experience responding to a potential voter intimidation case in 2020, when two observers openly carrying weapons filmed individuals at the polls. The men left the area after being prompted by local officials and were not charged.</p><ul><li>The city of Denver, a significant target for Trump's immigration policies, is involved in litigation aimed at preemptively blocking ICE agents from appearing at the polls.</li></ul><p><strong>Between the lines:</strong> Mullin's recent comments that ICE agents would only be present at polling places if they were making targeted arrests have not alleviated concerns among election officials.</p><ul><li>Read stated, "I think people could look to Minnesota and the fact that Alex Pretti and Ms. [Renée] Good are dead to talk about ICE's effectiveness and the appropriateness of their action."</li></ul><p><strong>The other side:</strong> A DHS spokesperson stated, "America's elections are NOT a sanctuary from federal criminal law, and [the Department of Homeland Security] will not pretend otherwise because a secretary of state held a training."</p><ul><li>The spokesperson added, "ICE is not planning operations targeting polling locations. ICE conducts intelligence-driven targeted enforcement, and if an active public safety threat endangered a polling location, they may be arrested as a result of that targeted enforcement action."</li></ul><p><strong>DHS previously had a more robust partnership</strong> to help secure elections from physical and digital threats through the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA).</p><ul><li>However, the Trump administration has made significant cuts to that agency, leaving some regional offices that handled such work empty.</li></ul>