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LetMyPeopleVote

(176,617 posts) Wed Feb 4, 2026, 08:20 PM Wednesday

Bannon's plan to send ICE to polling locations was tried in 1982 and resulted in major defeat

I have been volunteering on voter protection efforts since 2004. Until 2018, the RNC was under a cease and desist order/injunction that was due to the RNC doing something similar. All of the voter protection teams had the number of the lawyers in New Jersey who were in charge of monitoring compliance with this injunction. You had to go through the DNC voter protection team to file any thing to trigger this injunction

Bannon really wants to have law enforcement or ICE at polling locations

Steve Bannon says theyâ€™re going to â€œhave ICE surround the pollsâ€ in November.

(They donâ€™t have enough people to do that everywhere, but they could target select locations.)
— Leah McElrath (@leahmcelrath.bsky.social) 2026-02-04T03:38:00.604Z

When the GOP tried this 1982, the result was a great injunction that lasted until 2018

From 1982-2018, the Republican National Committee was barred from "ballot security measures" because of their record of using state actors to intimidate minority voters.
(H/t @rickhasen.bsky.social)
www.npr.org/2018/01/09/5...
— Don Moynihan (@donmoyn.bsky.social) 2026-02-04T20:19:55.429Z

If Bannon gets his wish, you will see some fun litigation that will use the 1982 injunction as an example of the relief that would be appropriate.

4 replies

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Highlight:

Bannon's plan to send ICE to polling locations was tried in 1982 and resulted in major defeat (Original Post) LetMyPeopleVote Wednesday OP

The courts are far more right wing JBTaurus83 Wednesday #1

Threatening the polls with fascist occupation bucolic_frolic Wednesday #2

MaddowBlog-Eyeing midterms, Steve Bannon expects ICE agents, troops at local polling sites LetMyPeopleVote 13 hrs ago #3

So you think the current Federal Courts would enforce the law the same as 1982? lol... I don't WarGamer 13 hrs ago #4

JBTaurus83

(988 posts)

1. The courts are far more right wing

Reply to LetMyPeopleVote (Original post)

Wed Feb 4, 2026, 08:22 PM

Wednesday

I wouldn’t expect that situation to happen again. 🤷

bucolic_frolic

(54,470 posts)

2. Threatening the polls with fascist occupation

Reply to LetMyPeopleVote (Original post)

Wed Feb 4, 2026, 08:29 PM

Wednesday

ought to be illegal

LetMyPeopleVote

(176,617 posts)

3. MaddowBlog-Eyeing midterms, Steve Bannon expects ICE agents, troops at local polling sites

Reply to LetMyPeopleVote (Original post)

Thu Feb 5, 2026, 06:07 PM

13 hrs ago

A prominent Democratic governor recently said he was concerned about Trump deploying federal personnel to the polls. Bannon just touted that exact idea.

Eyeing midterms, Steve Bannon expects ICE agents, troops at local polling sites

www.ms.now/rachel-maddo...
— Mike Walker (@newnarrative.bsky.social) 2026-02-05T15:44:40.623Z

https://www.ms.now/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/eyeing-midterms-steve-bannon-expects-ice-agents-troops-at-local-polling-sites

A variety of Republicans expressed discomfort with the declaration, which Trump repeated on Tuesday and Wednesday, pointing to the inconvenient fact that what the president wants is at odds with the U.S. Constitution, which he ostensibly swore to uphold. But one of the president’s allies enthusiastically endorsed the radical gambit. The New Republic noted:

The chief strategist during the president’s first term has a grim vision for the 2026 midterm elections, and it involves armed federal agents.

‘You’re damn right we’re gonna have ICE surround the polls come November,’ Steve Bannon said on his War Room podcast on Tuesday.

“We’re not gonna sit here and allow you to steal the country again,” Bannon added. “And you can whine and cry and throw your toys out of the pram all you want, but we will never again allow an election to be stolen.”

Steve Bannon: â€œYouâ€™re damn right weâ€™re gonna have ICE surround the polls come November.â€
— Ari Drennen (@aridrennen.bsky.social) 2026-02-04T19:31:41.011Z

For now, let’s not dwell on the obvious fact that the 2020 election wasn’t stolen. Let’s instead note that the podcast host went on to say that he wouldn’t be satisfied with Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents surrounding local voting precincts in November: Bannon also wants to see the deployment of active-duty military personnel.

“President Trump has to nationalize the election. You’ve got to put not just, I think, ICE, you’ve got to call up the 82nd and 101st Airborne [Divisions] on the Insurrection Act,” he told his listeners. “You’ve got to get around every poll and make sure only people with IDs, people … actually registered to vote and people that are United States citizens vote in this election.”....

So when a prominent presidential ally uses his conservative media platform to talk about ICE agents and military troops being deployed to local voting precincts, we’re no longer at a place where it’s easy to shrug off such rhetoric as ridiculous.

A few months ago, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker appeared on MS NOW and said he was concerned about the Republican administration deploying federal personnel to polling locations under the pretense of “protecting the vote.” With Bannon endorsing this exact scenario, it’s probably best not to look away too quickly.

WarGamer

(18,302 posts)

4. So you think the current Federal Courts would enforce the law the same as 1982? lol... I don't

Reply to LetMyPeopleVote (Original post)

Thu Feb 5, 2026, 06:20 PM

13 hrs ago

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