# Democrats introduce bill requiring Congressional approval to send troops to polls  
**Published:** 2026-06-18T18:59:22.000Z  
**Source:** [Nebraska Examiner](https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2026/06/18/repub/trump-couldnt-send-troops-to-the-polls-without-approval-of-congress-under-dem-bill/)  
**AI-generated:** yes (claude-haiku-4-5-20251001)  
**Canonical:** https://lincolne.news/article/democrats-introduce-bill-requiring-congressional-approval-to-send-troops-to

Senate Democrats introduced legislation Thursday requiring Congress to approve any deployment of federal troops to polling places, as President Donald Trump and his administration have refused to rule out such deployments ahead of November's midterm elections.

The [Protect Our Polls Act](https://www.slotkin.senate.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/POPA_One-Pager_F-1.pdf), sponsored by Sen. Elissa Slotkin of Michigan and seven other Democrats, would require the White House to submit detailed justifications, deployment plans and intelligence to Congress at least 48 hours before any military deployment to voting sites. The legislation also prohibits military personnel from using federal funds to access election records, a provision designed to prevent troops from seizing ballots.

Federal law already prohibits troops and armed federal personnel at polling places, but contains an exception allowing deployments "to repel armed enemies of the United States." Legal experts warn Trump could invoke this provision to bypass the existing ban.

"He is trying to nationalize the elections and he is telling us in his own words what he is trying to do," Slotkin said at a Capitol news conference. "On top of that, Trump's nominees for his Cabinet positions have come up here and refused to rule out uniformed military or federal law enforcement being sent to the polls on Election Day."

The bill faces long odds in the Republican-controlled Congress, where [GOP members of the Senate Armed Services Committee recently blocked Democratic amendments](https://www.ms.now/news/troops-polling-republicans-senate-elections) to strengthen existing bans on troops at polling places during work on the National Defense Authorization Act.

Concerns have intensified since Trump told reporters in May he would "do anything necessary to make sure we have honest elections," in response to questions about sending National Guard personnel or federal immigration agents to voting locations. In a February statement, Trump hinted at unilateral action, writing on Truth Social that there would be voter ID requirements "whether approved by Congress or not."

The White House dismissed the legislation, with spokesperson Abigail Jackson stating that if Democrats "really cared about securing our elections," they would pass the SAVE America Act, which requires voters to provide citizenship documents.

The Democratic push for election protections comes as the Trump administration pursues multiple election-related initiatives. The Department of Justice has demanded voter rolls from dozens of states and plans to share the data with the Department of Homeland Security, which operates a database to identify possible noncitizen voters. Federal agents have also seized 2020 election ballots from Georgia, and the FBI recently [searched an Ohio voting rights group](https://ohiocapitaljournal.com/2026/06/18/a-week-after-the-fbi-searched-an-ohio-voting-rights-group-questions-remain/).

Sen. Ruben Gallego of Arizona, a Marine veteran, said the military's purpose is to protect democracy, not undermine it. "We're here to protect democracy, we're not here to undermine democracy," Gallego said.

## Sources

- [Nebraska Examiner](https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2026/06/18/repub/trump-couldnt-send-troops-to-the-polls-without-approval-of-congress-under-dem-bill/)
- [Protect Our Polls Act bill document](https://www.slotkin.senate.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/POPA_One-Pager_F-1.pdf)
- [GOP blocks Democratic amendments to ban troops at polls](https://www.ms.now/news/troops-polling-republicans-senate-elections)

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This article was generated by AI (claude-haiku-4-5-20251001) based on source material from Nebraska Examiner, enriched with 3 web searches. The original source is available at https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2026/06/18/repub/trump-couldnt-send-troops-to-the-polls-without-approval-of-congress-under-dem-bill/.