Top U.S. General Says Military has No Plans to Deploy Troops to Polling Places

Joint Chiefs chairman says election administration and security remain responsibilities of state and local officials.

The nation’s highest-ranking military officer says the U.S. military has no plans to deploy federal troops to polling places or seize election materials during the November midterm elections.

Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, made the commitment in writing to Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., after she asked Caine and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to clarify the military’s role in the 2026 elections.

“The Joint Force has no plans to send Federal military personnel or Federalized members of the National Guard to polling places during the 2026 elections,” Caine said in a letter to Sen. Slotkin.

Caine also said the military has no plans to use troops to seize ballots, voting machines or other election-related materials.

“Election administration and security remain the fundamental responsibility of state and local officials,” Caine wrote.

The statement is significant because elections in North Carolina, as elsewhere across the country, are primarily administered by state and local election officials rather than the military.

Caine also addressed the possibility of receiving an unlawful order involving the election.

“I have neither received nor anticipate receiving any unlawful order concerning the role of the Joint Force in the upcoming November 2026 midterm elections,” he wrote.

Slotkin, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, requested the written assurances amid concerns from Democrats that President Donald Trump could attempt to involve federal forces in the midterm elections. Trump administration officials have rejected claims that the military would be used to suppress voting.

Federal law generally prohibits armed federal troops from being stationed at polling places, with limited exceptions.

The issue has arisen before. In 2020, then-Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Mark Milley told Slotkin, who was serving in the House at the time, that the military had no role in resolving election disputes. Such disputes are handled through the courts and Congress.

Hegseth has reportedly not provided a written response to Slotkin’s latest request as of this week. During an April congressional hearing, however, Hegseth said he had never been ordered to do anything illegal and would not comply with an illegal order.

Caine emphasized that the military remains nonpartisan and that members of the armed forces are obligated to support and defend the Constitution.

North Carolina voters will cast ballots Nov. 3 in the 2026 midterm elections. Absentee ballots will begin being mailed on Sept. 4, according to the NC State Board of Elections, followed by early voting from Oct. 15-Oct. 31.