Three researchers say perceived political use of troops at U.S. polling sites could weaken the military’s public standing, raising questions about the armed forces’ nonpartisan role before the Tuesday, Nov. 3, midterm elections.
In an Oct. 28 analysis published by Just Security, Dan Herman, senior director of national security, accountability and reform at the Center for American Progress; Devon Ombres, the center’s senior director for courts and legal policy; and Sadhana Mandala, a research assistant in its National Security and International Policy department, argued that such a deployment could strain civil-military relations. They said possible consequences could include weaker recruitment, less congressional support and pressure on military funding. The surveys they cite do not show that an election deployment would cause those outcomes.
In a May PBS NewsHour interview, President Donald Trump was asked whether he might send National Guard troops or Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to voting locations in November. He did not rule that out, saying, “I would do anything necessary to make sure we have honest elections.”
Under 18 U.S.C. § 592, a person serving in U.S. civil, military or naval service may face a fine, up to five years in prison, or both, and disqualification from federal office for ordering, bringing, keeping or controlling troops or armed personnel at a place where a general or special election is held. The statute makes an exception when the force is needed to repel armed enemies of the United States.
The Associated Press reported Aug. 31 that Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine wrote Sen. Elissa Slotkin that the Joint Force had no plans to send federal military personnel or federalized National Guard members to polling places during the 2026 elections, or to seize ballots or voting machines. AP said it had obtained the letter. The reported assurance addresses federal forces at polling places; it does not settle the status of state-controlled Guard units or activity near election sites.
Gallup found that 61% of Americans had “a great deal” or “quite a lot” of confidence in the military in June 2026. The Ronald Reagan Institute’s 2025 National Defense Survey found 49% had “a great deal” of confidence, down from 70% in 2018. A separate question in that survey found 38% had a great deal of confidence in the military’s ability to act professionally and nonpolitically. The measures differ, and neither directly measures whether respondents view the military as politically neutral.
The researchers also cited past domestic deployments as cautions. Four students were killed and nine wounded when Ohio National Guard troops fired into an unarmed protest at Kent State in May 1970. In 1992, President George H.W. Bush sent troops to Los Angeles after the governor and mayor requested help and federalized the National Guard during civil unrest. Neither episode involved an election site. The next scheduled event is Election Day on Tuesday, Nov. 3.
