Donald Trump could send armed Secret Service agents to patrol polling places during the 2018 general election.
So says Section 4012 of House Resolution 2825, the pending Department of Homeland Security reauthorization bill:
SEC. 4012. SECRET SERVICE PROTECTION AT POLLING PLACES.Section 592 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
“ This section shall not prevent any officer or agent of the United States Secret Service from providing armed protective services authorized under section 3056 or pursuant to a Presidential memorandum at any place where a general or special election is held.” [H.R. 2825].
That provision didn’t raise many alarms last July 20, when Rep. Kristi Noem and most of the rest of the House voted for it. But some state election officials have noticed and are telling the Senate to keep Trump from sending armed goons into their polling places:
We write to you today out of concern regarding unprecedented and shocking language currently included in Section 4012 of HR 2825, the reauthorization of the federal Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Section 4012 allows Secret Service personnel unlimited access to polling places pursuant to the President’s direction. This is an alarming proposal which raises the possibility that armed federal agents will be patrolling neighborhood precincts and vote centers.
Title 18 of the US Code makes it a crime for a military or civil officer in the service of the United States to bring or keep their troops “at any place where a general or special election is held,” unless it is necessary to protect against an armed invasion. This longstanding and carefully crafted statute ensures the right of voters to cast their ballots under the limited authority of civil officers rather than law enforcement. Secretaries of State across the country agree that there is no discernable [sic] need for federal Secret Service agents to intrude, at the discretion of the president, who may also be a candidate in that election, into the thousands of citadels where democracy is enshrined.
Due to this grave concern, we write to you today to humbly request your assistance in removing this damaging and concerning provision from the proposed legislation. Yesterday, the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee considered this legislation and heard our concerns, expressed to Senators Johnson and McCaskill, regarding this and other amendments to the bill that we found disquieting. However, the committee did not have the authority to address this important issue, and therefore we bring this request directly to you as leaders of your respective parties within the Senate [Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver et al., letter to Sens. Mitch McConnell and Chuck Schumer, 2018.03.09].
Massachusetts Secretary of State William F. Galvin joined that letter:
“This is worthy of a Third World country,” said Galvin in an interview. “I’m not going to tolerate people showing up to our polling places. I would not want to have federal agents showing up in largely Hispanic areas”[Annie Linskey, “Trump Wants New Authority over Polling Places. Top Election Officials Say No,” Boston Globe, 2018.03.09].
South Dakota Secretary of State Shantel Krebs did not sign this letter. Her counterparts in North Dakota and Minnesota did. Secretary Krebs should join in this protest against giving the President this arbitrary and frightening power of armed intervention in our elections.