Blanche tells senators "I will absolutely follow the law" when asked to commit to no federal agents at polling places
Todd BlancheActing Attorney General, testifying at his Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing
At his Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing, Blanche was asked whether he would commit to following federal law and not deploying federal agents to polling locations. He said, "I will absolutely follow the law, no matter what it includes", and, asked whether he understood voters' concern about armed agents at polling places, said, "I'm not aware of that concern".
“I will absolutely follow the law, no matter what it includes. … I'm not aware of armed agents being at polling places. … I'm not aware of that concern, but I will tell you we will follow the law, Senator.”
Original video
Reporting
Other statements by Todd Blanche in this case
- Blanche asks, "Why is there objection to sending ICE officers to polling places?"Earlier: Defended or excused
- Blanche disputes that he supported armed federal officers at polling places and asks "what's the risk?"Earlier: Mixed or conditional
Where this statement fits
Should ICE and other armed federal agents be allowed at or near polling places in the 2026 election?
Since February 2026, federal officials have given differing answers about whether ICE and other armed federal agents could be at or near polling places during the November 3 election. On September 1, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said ICE would be at a polling place only if there is a threat to it or agents are serving a warrant, and DHS told Politico that ICE is not planning operations targeting polling locations but that arrests could result if an active public safety threat endangered one. On September 10, 18 and 23, 2026, LULAC and other groups, a coalition including the NAACP, and Democratic leaders and party committees sued separately in federal court in Washington. They allege that the administration's statements and actions violate 18 U.S.C. 592, Section 11(b) of the Voting Rights Act, or both. As of September 25, the court dockets show no motion for a preliminary injunction and no answer or motion to dismiss from the federal defendants, and no court has ruled.
Source and context
Original video
About this source
PBS News clip of Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche answering a senator's questions at his confirmation hearing about deploying federal agents to polling locations. The quoted wording is our transcription of the video audio.
Reporting
About this source
Axios's report of the exchange between Sen. Amy Klobuchar and Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche on polling places at the July 15 confirmation hearing. It says Blanche declined to explicitly rule out deploying federal agents to polling places and said only that he would follow the law.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Before the quotation
Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) said that federal law has made clear that the president does not have the authority to deploy armed federal officials to election sites, and asked whether Blanche would commit to following clear federal law and not deploying federal agents to polling locations.
After the quotation
Axios reported that Blanche declined to explicitly rule out deploying federal agents to polling places and said only that he would follow the law. PBS's description of the video says he did not specifically mention polling locations when saying he would follow the law.
How this statement is classified
The label describes this statement's response within the context above.
Why this label?
The reference point is the administration's stated or threatened use of ICE and other armed federal agents at or near polling places in the 2026 election. Blanche committed to following the law without saying whether that means no federal agents at polling places, and said he was not aware of voters' concern. His answer depends on what the law requires, a condition he did not resolve, so mixed or conditional fits better than explicitly declines, since he did answer, and better than denies, since he did not rule out a deployment.
- Recorded on
- Published here
More from this case
Read the full caseGeraghty says fears of federal agents intimidating voters have so far proved unfounded
“There’s a lot of fear that the 2026 midterm elections will be disrupted by some authority, either federal or local, harassing and intimidating voters, seizing ballots, or closing polling places. That fear, so far, appears unfounded.”Read statement
Letitia James says armed federal agents are not allowed at New York polls
“I want New York voters to know the law is on their side. Armed federal agents are not allowed at polling places, and no one can use a badge, a weapon, or a threat to stop you from voting.”Read statement
Trueblood says uniformed federal observers can intimidate voters
“You standing there in your FBI vest is intimidating to voters, and so we’re not going to allow that,”Read statement
Share or embed this statement
The embed keeps its attribution link to The Dispute Index. Credit the image to The Dispute Index and link to the statement page.
Cite this record
- Publisher
- The Dispute Index
- Title
- Blanche tells senators "I will absolutely follow the law" when asked to commit to no federal agents at polling places
- First published
- Last updated
- Permalink
- https://disputeindex.com/events/2750-at-his-senate-judiciary-committee-confirmation-hearing-blanche
Last updated marks the most recent saved version of this published statement.
The Dispute Index. "Blanche tells senators "I will absolutely follow the law" when asked to commit to no federal agents at polling places". First published: 2026-09-26. Last updated: 2026-09-26. https://disputeindex.com/events/2750-at-his-senate-judiciary-committee-confirmation-hearing-blanche