General Dan Caine says military personnel are not planned to be sent to U.S. polling stations
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine told Michigan Sen. Elissa Slotkin that U.S. military personnel are not planned to be sent to polling stations during the midterm elections in November 2026. The Hill reports, citing the general's letter.
The military's role in elections
Caine stated that organizing elections and ensuring their security are the primary responsibility of state and local authorities. According to him, the Joint Force does not plan to send federal military personnel or National Guard personnel federalized by the federal government to polling stations.
The general also noted that such military personnel are not planned to be used to seize ballots, voting machines, or other election-related materials.
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The senator's letter
Earlier this month, Slotkin sent letters to Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Caine. She asked them to confirm that the Pentagon would not send federal troops to polling stations or involve them in seizing election materials.
Slotkin, who serves on the Senate Armed Services Committee and the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, referred to President Donald Trump's remarks regarding the federalization of the midterm elections. After conservative commentator Wayne Allyn Root suggested the possibility of declaring a national security emergency to federalize the elections, Trump replied that stranger things had happened.
Unlawful orders
In his letter to Slotkin, Caine added that he had not received and did not expect to receive an unlawful order regarding the Joint Force's role in the midterm elections in November 2026. He also said he was ready to discuss the matter with the senator or other senators.
