A coalition of civil rights groups filed a lawsuit against Trump administration officials on Friday, seeking to stop them from threatening to deploy federal law enforcement officers to polling stations in the US midterm elections. The suit, led by the NAACP, alleges that by threatening to deploy law enforcement to survey elections and initiating new voter roll oversight, the Trump administration has violated a section of the Voting Rights Act which prohibits voter intimidation. Plaintiffs cited other examples of voter intimidation, such as Donald Trump giving a primetime address to exaggerate claims of noncitizen voting, the administration’s sweeping immigration enforcement operations in communities of color, and Trump’s efforts to create a national voter eligibility list.
Friday’s lawsuit is the latest attempt by groups to stop Trump from asserting more control over US elections as the country heads into what is expected to be a competitive midterm in November. The Guardian has asked the justice department and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for comment. The FBI declined to comment for this story.
ICE referred the Guardian to DHS. A White House official pointed to the administration’s past remarks denying any plan to deploy ICE agents to polls in November. Karoline Leavitt, the former White House press secretary, told reporters in February it was “not something I’ve ever heard the president consider”.
Federal law states that no armed federal officers or members of the armed forces may be placed at a location where an election is being held. So far, the administration has not sent any armed officers or military members to polling locations. In statements, DHS has maintained: “ICE is not planning operations targeting polling locations.” Rather, the agency conducts “intelligence-driven targeted enforcement” and would only respond to public safety threats at a polling location.
But recent mixed-messaging from top administration officials has raised concerns among election integrity advocates. In May, Trump did not rule out the possibility of sending the National Guard or ICE officers to polling locations. Kash Patel, the FBI director, told lawmakers this week that the FBI “will not shy away” from its efforts to ensure elections are safe and honest when asked whether he planned to send FBI agents the polls.
Earlier this month, Markwayne Mullin, the homeland security secretary, told reporters ICE would not be at polling locations to patrol but could be present if there was a threat or if they were serving a warrant to someone. Friday’s lawsuit is at least the second of its kind. Last week a coalition of groups, led by the League of United Latin American Citizens, also sued the administration seeking to stop it from deploying ICE officers to polling locations.
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