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Democrats and activists prepare response to possible Trump moves in the midterms
State Democratic parties, civil rights groups and legal scholars are setting contingency plans in case the federal government tries to disrupt voting or ballot counting. The White House dismisses those concerns and says Democrats are stoking them.
State Democratic parties on Monday announced a midterm election effort aimed at recruiting 10,000 volunteers to watch polling places in case armed federal officers appear, NBC 6 South Florida reported.
According to the outlet, activists are also planning mass protests if Donald Trump’s administration tries to interfere with voting or ballot counting, while legal scholars are circulating guidance for judges on how to respond if the government seeks to seize ballots.
The preparations come after Trump pushed several election-related changes ahead of the midterms, including attempts to require proof of citizenship for voter registration and to give the Postal Service a central role in determining which voters receive mail ballots.
NBC 6 South Florida reported that courts previously blocked White House efforts to change election rules through executive action. Another attempt to restrict mail voting was also halted, and that dispute is now before the Supreme Court, while election officials have warned the requirements could not be implemented in time for this election.
The legal fight has intensified enough that the National Bar Association last week announced a project to help voters from both parties understand last-minute rule changes and to create a hotline for people who run into trouble casting ballots.
One of the main Democratic concerns is the possible presence of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers at polling sites. Administration officials have denied for months that this will happen, although there have been scattered instances over the past year in which ICE officers were at polling places while pursuing or investigating a specific person. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said this month that such a situation could happen again in November.
Against that backdrop, civil rights groups and the city of Denver filed a lawsuit last week asking a federal judge to formally bar ICE from polling places. NBC 6 South Florida said the lawsuit cites a Civil War-era law prohibiting armed federal agents at election sites.
Democrats are also expanding their election monitoring operation. The Association of State Democratic Committees has added its new battleground recruitment project and plans to include a network for sharing information about online threats and manipulation, said Jane Kleeb, who leads the group and the Nebraska Democratic Party.
On the Republican side, the Republican National Committee said it has already recruited a record number of poll watchers. Spokeswoman Ally Triolo said the operation is intended to protect every legal vote and strengthen confidence in the outcome.
Beyond polling-place monitoring, progressive groups are rehearsing responses to hypothetical scenarios. Ezra Levin of Indivisible said his organization has worked through 17 different scenarios ahead of November, while stressing that turnout remains the top priority. The No Kings network, which includes Indivisible, is launching an early-vote push that will culminate in rallies on Oct. 17.
Some activists are also looking to anti-ICE protests in Minneapolis as a possible model. NBC 6 South Florida reported that two activists were shot and killed by ICE agents during those January demonstrations, after which the administration pulled back from the crackdown it had launched against the city.
Sources
About this piece. Written by El Notero with AI assistance, from reporting published by the outlet cited above. El Notero did no original reporting on this story.
