Top US general says there are no plans to send troops to polling places for November elections

The chairman of the United States Joint Chiefs of Staff has said there are no plans to deploy federal military personnel or federalized National Guard members to polling places during the 2026 elections. In a letter addressed to Democratic Senator Elissa Slotkin of Michigan, General Dan Caine also said there are no plans to seize ballots, voting machines or other election-related material. The assurance comes amid heightened concern among Democrats about possible military involvement in the election process.

Sponsored

Caine's letter, obtained on Monday, said the Joint Force has no plans to send federal military personnel or federalized members of the National Guard to polling places on November 3. He added that the Joint Force has no plans to use such personnel to seize ballots, voting machines or other election-related material. Caine also wrote that he had neither received nor expected to receive any unlawful order concerning the role of the Joint Force in the upcoming November 2026 midterm elections.

Slotkin had recently asked Caine and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to confirm that troops would not be sent to the polls. The letter was framed as a response to those concerns, which have grown among Democrats in the context of federal deployments in Democratic-led states over the objections of local leaders. The issue has become politically sensitive because of fears that military or federal law-enforcement activity could be seen as affecting the conduct of elections.

The statement matters because the United States military is expected to remain outside domestic election administration except in narrow circumstances. Federal law prohibits the deployment of armed federal forces to election locations unless it is necessary to repel armed enemies of the United States. If military personnel were involved at all, it would most likely be the National Guard under state control rather than federal command.

Sponsored

That distinction is central to concerns about whether the military could be used in a domestic political dispute. The letter also lands against the backdrop of broader debate over the Trump administration's use of federal power in Democratic-led areas. Slotkin said earlier in August that Donald Trump had been laying the groundwork to claim the November elections would be stolen.

She pointed to his past comments after losing the 2020 election to Joe Biden, including discussion of using the military to seize voting machines, as well as later deployments of the National Guard and active-duty Marines in domestic operations. What remains unclear is whether any further public assurances will follow from the Defense Department or the White House, and whether lawmakers will seek additional safeguards before November. The immediate question is how election security will be managed while avoiding any appearance of military interference.

For now, the top military officer's letter is a direct denial of plans to place troops at polling sites or to handle election materials.

#USelections #JointChiefsofStaff #DanCaine #ElissaSlotkin #electionsecurity

Sponsored