Baldwin bill would restrict federal agents near polls

What the bill would do

Wisconsin Sen. Tammy Baldwin introduced legislation that would restrict federal personnel near polling places after President Donald Trump declined to rule out sending officers to voting sites in November.

The Safe Access to the Polls Act would prohibit federal officers from coming within a quarter mile of a polling place or establishing checkpoints on routes to one. It specifically addresses personnel from Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Customs and Border Protection and the National Guard, barring them from interfering with eligible voters casting ballots.

Baldwin, a Democrat, said Wisconsin elections administered by municipal clerks are secure and accurate. She characterized the possible presence of immigration officers at polling sites as intimidating and unrelated to election administration.

The Department of Homeland Security said ICE is not planning operations targeting polling locations. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said Sept. 1 that ICE would act in response to specific threats or for immigration enforcement, not to patrol polling places.

Timing and existing oversight

The bill cannot clear Congress before Election Day. House members are campaigning in their districts and are not scheduled to return to Washington until after the midterm elections, while the Senate has one more week in session.

Baldwin said the proposal still sends a message to the president that lawmakers are monitoring the administration’s actions. Trump said May 12 that he would take necessary steps to ensure honest elections and has not ruled out deploying federal officers to polling sites.

The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division already monitors whether local jurisdictions comply with federal voting-rights laws. Separately, the National Guard said governors have authority to send troops from their states’ Guard units to polling sites.