No plans for US troops to be deployed to polling places during midterm elections, top general says

Jerusalem Post/US PoliticsIn a letter to US Senator Elissa Slotkin, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Caine said election administration and security remain the responsibility of state and local officials.Follow us on Google American soldiers salute as the national anthem plays during the opening ceremonies of Salaknib, the annual bilateral exercise between Philippine and U.S. Army, at Fort Magsaysay, Nueva Ecija province, Philippines, March 13, 2023.(photo credit: REUTERS/LISA MARIE DAVID)SEPTEMBER 1, 2026 03:56Updated: SEPTEMBER 1, 2026 04:10The top US general said the military has no plans to send federal military personnel or National Guard troops to polling places during this year's midterm elections.In a letter to US Senator Elissa Slotkin, a Democrat from Michigan, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Caine said election administration and security remain the responsibility of state and local officials.Caine's letter, which was obtained by Reuters, was sent in response to a request from Slotkin, who had sought assurances from senior military leaders, including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, that the Trump administration would not interfere in the November elections.While stressing that no such deployment is planned, Caine said the military has no plans to seize ballots, voting machines or other election-related material."I have neither received nor anticipate receiving any unlawful order concerning the role of the Joint Force in the upcoming November 2026 midterm elections," Caine wrote.US Chair of the Joint Chiefs, Gen. Dan Caine, addresses the Senate Appropriations Committee on the Pentagon's budget request, May 12, 2026; illustrative. (credit: REUTERS/KEVIN LAMARQUE)The letter was received August 28, according to an official.Democrats concerned Trump administration could deploy troops during midtermsMillions of Americans are due to vote on November 3 in congressional, gubernatorial, and local elections.Democrats, including Slotkin, have raised concerns that the Trump administration could seek to use troops or other armed federal personnel near polling places.Those concerns were fueled in part by comments Trump made in May when, asked whether he would send National Guard troops or Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to voting locations, he said he would "do anything necessary to make sure we have honest elections."Federal law generally prohibits the deployment of US troops at polling places or their use in overseeing elections, reflecting long-standing restrictions on military involvement in the electoral process.Follow us on Google