ARLINGTON, Va. — Arlington County’s governing board sued the Trump administration Tuesday, asking a federal judge to block policies it says permit armed federal agents to conduct enforcement operations at voting sites.
The lawsuit covers polling places, early voting locations, ballot drop boxes and curbside voting areas ahead of the Nov. 3 midterm elections.
At issue is an 1865 federal law. The county argues that it bars federal officials from bringing armed personnel to election sites unless needed to repel armed enemies of the United States.
The board filed its complaint in the Eastern District of Virginia in Alexandria. It names the departments of Homeland Security and Justice, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the FBI and four agency leaders in their official capacities.
Arlington bases its challenge in part on September statements by Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin and FBI Director Kash Patel.
According to the complaint, Mullin said Sept. 1 that ICE could appear at polling places to address a threat or serve a warrant on someone agents were tracking.
Two weeks later, Patel appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee. When asked about sending FBI agents to polling places, he said, “I don’t know that we can’t legally do it,” the filing recounts.
Federal officials have also denied plans for broad immigration operations at the polls, though their statements left open the possibility of enforcement there.
White House border official Tom Homan told Fox News on Sept. 13 there was “no plan to sweep polling places,” according to the complaint. He maintained that ICE could pursue people considered public safety or national security threats.
Arlington says preparing for that possibility has already taken staff time and money away from other work.
On Sept. 16, police, prosecutors, election administrators and county lawyers held a four-hour planning exercise, the filing says. They discussed how to communicate with federal agents, respond to possible confrontations and decide whether voting would need to move elsewhere.
Officials held a voter safety town hall Sept. 22 to answer residents’ questions about encountering federal agents at the polls.
The complaint says the Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office plans to deploy six attorneys for election response this year. In previous elections, it deployed two or three. County police have also revised training and increased planned Election Day staffing.
“These statements are a clear attempt to stoke fear and undermine confidence in our elections,” County Board Chair Matt de Ferranti said in a Democracy Forward news release.
Democracy Forward and Public Rights Project represent the board alongside the Arlington County Attorney’s Office.
The county alleges that the policies violate the Administrative Procedure Act and the Tenth Amendment. It argues that federal agencies exceeded their authority and interfered with state and local responsibility for running elections.
The lawsuit presents the county’s allegations and interpretation of the law for the court to decide. The supplied materials contain no administration response to Arlington’s case.
Early voting is already underway. The board is asking the court to strike down the challenged policies and bar armed federal personnel from Arlington election sites except when necessary to repel armed enemies of the United States.
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