As voting begins in the 2026 midterm elections, leaders at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Justice, and other federal officials have threatened that armed federal agents could be at polling places this fall. The threats are just one piece of an ongoing campaign by the federal government to undermine elections, including a sweeping national voter fraud investigation fueled by the lie that noncitizens are voting and a voter surveillance operation targeting naturalized citizens. At the same time, it has conducted violent and intrusive immigration operations targeting communities of color. As a result, voters across the country – particularly Black, Latino, and Asian voters, naturalized citizens, and members of mixed-status families—are intimidated as they consider voting, helping others vote, and participating in civic life.
But federal law expressly prohibits the presence of armed federal agents and members of the military from entering voting locations, and these threats also reverse longstanding federal agency policies. Section 11(b) of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 further prohibits actual and attempted intimidation, threats, and coercion of voters or anyone who encourages or assists voters.
On September 18, 2026, the Brennan Center and co-counsel filed a lawsuit in the District Court for the District of Columbia, NAACP, et al. v. DHS, et al., to challenge the Department of Homeland Security, Department of Justice, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s unlawful voter intimidation actions on behalf of the Service Employees International Union, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, Mi Familia en Acción, OCA-Asian Pacific American Advocates, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc., National Urban League, MN8, American Federation of Teachers, United Food and Commercial Workers, and International Union of Painters and Allied Trades. The Brennan Center are co-counseling with NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund, Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund, Protect Democracy Project, National Immigration Law Center, LatinoJustice PRLDEF, and Democracy Defenders Fund.
The lawsuit alleges that defendants have violated Section 11(b) of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Section 11(b)’s scope is broad, and prohibits anyone from intimidating, threatening, or coercing voters, those attempting to vote, or those who urge or aid others to vote or attempt to vote. The lawsuit seeks declaratory relief and a court order enjoining the federal government from deploying agents in a way that intimidates voters or burdens their right to vote.
Case Documents:
- Complaint (September 18, 2026)
