David Gault is an attorney in Dane County, Wisconsin's Office of Corporation Counsel. He has served as deputy corporation counsel and advises county government on civil legal matters.
In an email to the Wisconsin Elections Commission administrator, Gault says there is no legitimate reason for ICE to be at a polling place and that the commission's guidance should not imply an ICE agent can be a legitimate observer. Votebeat reports that he argued a federal voter-intimidation law would bar even an unarmed but uniformed ICE agent from observing.
“There is no legitimate reason for ICE to be at a polling place,” he told Wolfe. “Everyone there is presumptively a US citizen. I don’t think WEC’s guidance should imply that an ICE agent can be a legitimate observer.”
Open source (opens in a new tab)Wisconsin officials debate federal agents observing at polling placesGault email, Sharpe response and Levitt and Trueblood interviews
Why we used this label
Gault expressly opposes ICE attendance as an election observer.
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin says ICE would go to polling places only for a threat or a warrant, and DHS says ICE is not planning operations targeting them but arrests could follow a threat. Three lawsuits allege that position violates federal law.
