Top US general says no plans to send troops to polls for November elections

Remarks come in response to concerns from Democrats that military could be used to interfere in elections.The chairman of the United States Joint Chiefs of Staff, the country’s highest ranking military officer, has assured an opposition lawmaker that there are no plans to deploy troops to polling places during elections on November 3.“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,” General Dan Caine said in the letter obtained on Monday by The Associated Press news agency. “Likewise, the Joint Force has no plans to use such personnel to seize ballots, voting machines, or other election-related material.”Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Trump administration to dismiss Reflecting Pool charges against David Hearnlist 2 of 3US judge repeats block on Trump’s bid to limit voting by maillist 3 of 3Trump threatens to report journalist Kristen Welker to broadcast regulatorend of listCaine’s letter was addressed to Democratic US Senator Elissa Slotkin of Michigan, who recently asked Caine and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to confirm they won’t send troops to the polls. Caine, who advises Hegseth and President Donald Trump on military matters, also wrote: “I have neither received nor anticipate receiving any unlawful order concerning the role of the Joint Force in the upcoming November 2026 midterm elections.”Anxiety among Democrats that the Trump administration could try to meddle in the midterm elections has grown, particularly after the president deployed federal agents in Democratic-led states over the objections of local leaders. He said they were needed for Immigration enforcement and due to crime and protests.Slotkin told the AP earlier in August that Trump has been laying the groundwork to claim November’s elections will have been stolen. She noted that Trump contemplated using the military to seize voting machines after his loss in 2020 to President Joe Biden and has deployed the National Guard to cities against the wishes of Democratic leaders. He also deployed active-duty Marines to Los Angeles during his Immigration crackdown in 2025.