WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Representatives Chrissy Houlahan (PA-06), Maggie Goodlander (NH-02), George Whitesides (CA-27), and Pat Ryan (NY-18) introduced the Protect Our Polls Act, a bill to prevent armed federal agents from being deployed to polling places without Congressional approval. A Senate version of the bill has been introduced by Senator Elissa Slotkin (D-MI). 

The Protect Our Polls Act comes after a senior military official refused to commit not to deploy troops to polling places when questioned by Rep. Houlahan. The legislation reinforces a principle embedded in federal law for more than 150 years: Americans should be able to cast their ballots free from intimidation or the presence of military force. Federal law has restricted the deployment of troops or armed federal personnel to polling places since the Civil War era, with a narrow exception for repelling “armed enemies of the United States” that has never been invoked. 

“Americans should never have to walk past armed federal agents or military personnel to cast their ballot,” said Rep. Houlahan. “Since the Civil War, federal law has kept troops away from our polling places, and for good reason. Our military exists to defend the Constitution and the American people, not to police our elections. 

“When I asked a senior military official whether troops could be deployed to polling places this November, I could not get a commitment that they would not be. That should alarm every American. We should not have to rely on the restraint of this or any President or administration when something as fundamental as the right to vote is at stake. The Protect Our Polls Act makes the guardrails unmistakable: no President gets to put armed federal forces at our polls without Congress and the law standing in the way.” 

“The right to vote is the fundamental right from which all of our rights flow as Americans, and free and fair elections are the foundation of our republic,” said Rep. Goodlander. “At a moment when this President is hellbent on sowing chaos and confusion in our elections, our commonsense bill makes a bedrock American principle crystal clear: the ballot box belongs to the American people—not any President.”

“Trump’s second term has been defined by crushing cost increases, a war in Iran – which has cost us billions in taxpayer dollars and the lives of 18 brave Patriots – and historic cuts to programs like SNAP and Medicaid,” said Rep. Ryan. “That’s not a winning message, and Trump knows it – that’s why he’s doing everything in his power to silence the American people ahead of the election. This legislation would help ensure that every American has unencumbered access to their polling place in November, and stop the President from yet again using our Patriots in uniform as pawns in his political games.”

“This administration has spent months trying to chip away at Americans' confidence in our elections – from executive orders targeting mail voting, to threats against states that don't fall in line,” said Rep. Whitesides. “That's not how democracy is supposed to work. The right to vote doesn't belong to whoever holds power in Washington; it belongs to the American people. The Protect Our Polls Act strengthens existing guardrails to require Congressional approval before the President can make any kind of decision to deploy armed agents to polling places.”

Specifically, the Protect Our Polls Act: 

A one-pager on the Protect Our Polls Act can be found here. The bill text can be found here. 

Recently, Rep. Houlahan also led fellow Pennsylvania House Democrats in requesting key election cybersecurity information from Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) Regional Director William J. Ryan. This reflects Rep. Houlahan’s consistent effort to keep elections safe from foreign and domestic interference ahead of the November 2026 midterms. 

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