Arlington County v. Department of Homeland Security

Under two new policies, the Trump administration is threatening to send armed Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers and FBI agents to polling places to serve warrants or conduct other enforcement activity on Election Day. 

Arlington County, Virginia, filed a lawsuit challenging the unlawful polling place policies and is seeking to protect its election from federal interference. Public Rights Project and Democracy Forward are serving as co-counsel.

Why it matters

The policies break the law. A 150-year-old federal law bars anyone from sending armed federal personnel to the polls. The policies also conflict with Virginia law, undermine election security requirements, and interfere with how local officials run elections.

Arlington County is bearing the burden. Local officials have had to take additional steps to prepare. They’ve increased Election Day staffing plans, issued new guidance on interacting with federal officials, coordinated with local law enforcement, and held a town hall to address voters’ fears about encountering armed federal agents. 

The policies create fear and chaos. The presence of armed agents is particularly intimidating to naturalized citizens, citizens in mixed-status families, citizens perceived to be foreign-born, and election workers. For these people, being at the polls could mean being questioned, detained, or separated from their families. More broadly, federal law enforcement at polling places is likely to cause confusion and unrest.

The county’s limited resources are being diverted. The Commonwealth’s attorney office is doubling the number of attorneys being sent to polling places to support election officials this year. Additionally, the county staff has spent hundreds of hours planning and hosting town halls and other events to address voter and election worker concerns. 

Public Rights Project and Democracy Forward filed a similar lawsuit in League of United Latin American Citizens v. Department of Homeland Security, challenging the same unlawful policies. Public Rights Project is representing Denver, Colorado, and Hennepin County, Minnesota, in that case.

Read the complaint.