With Election Day in Maryland just two weeks away, state election officials are preparing for every eventuality, including the possibility of federal agents showing up at polling places.
Maryland Election Administrator Jared DeMarinis said he is addressing concerns about disruptions at the polls.
“I worry about everything, and that is one of my worries,” DeMarinis said.
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DeMarinis added that he is in communication with election officials in other states to discuss how they are handling similar concerns.
“My counterparts and I are in communication to see how they’re handling it. The biggest thing is making sure that it doesn’t escalate and impact voting or disenfranchise people,” he said.
Polling from the University of California San Diego released last month showed that 40% of Americans are concerned federal immigration officers will be present at polling places.
Ian Anson, a professor of political science at UMBC, said there is no reason for concern.
“I certainly think that there’s no cause for concern here,” Anson said.
Maryland will have close to 26,000 election judges serving at the polls. Anson noted each precinct will have both a Republican and Democratic chief judge.
“They have been well-trained in terms of any disruptions to access to the ballot, any disruptions to access to the polling precinct. They have a really, really clear sort of order of business as to how to intervene if anybody were to try to disrupt,” Anson said.
Todd Eberly, a professor of political science and public policy at St. Mary’s College of Maryland, emphasized that federal law prohibits armed federal agents from being at polling places.
“Any armed agent of the federal government, it is illegal for them to be at a polling place. That doesn’t mean that they can’t be near them. I think that worries some people, but then I would point to that fact that it is a violation of federal law to intimidate voters,” Eberly said.
The Department of Homeland Security has indicated it will not send ICE agents to monitor the polls. However, DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin did not rule out ICE agents responding to threats or making arrests at polling places with a warrant.
“If something does happen, we would know it relatively early on election night, and you would see almost immediate legal challenges to their presence,” Eberly said.
DeMarinis said his goal is to ensure that all 4.3 million registered Maryland voters can cast their ballots.
“I hope for a nice, boring election, but I have to worry about it. It is a reality, and we have to make contingency plans in case it does arise,” DeMarinis said.
Early voting in Maryland begins Thursday and runs for one week.
READ MORE:Maryland election officials prepare for polling place disruptions
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