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Looking ahead to the 2026 midterms: Members of the military are REQUIRED to refuse illegal orders. [1]
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Date: 2025-09-16
I will preface this post by saying: I’m not a current or past member of the US armed forces, so there is much I don’t know about military culture and just the reality of serving in the armed forces.
Looking ahead to the 2026 midterms, I’ve read of concerns that Trump will use the National Guard, or perhaps even active service members to “supervise” — i.e. interfere with — the 2026 midterm elections. Who knows? He might also use ICE, CBP, or local police in the same way.
I’ve wondered how many members of the National Guard really do not want to be deployed as occupiers of American cities.
I assumed, and after poking around online, have confirmed that:
Members of the military are required to refuse an illegal order;
Military personnel are barred from participating in law enforcement or election administration activities;
Local police may be near polling places to ensure safety, but they cannot legally question voters, check voter eligibility, or block access;
ICE, CBP, or other federal immigration officers have no authority in elections;
Only duly trained, authorized poll workers (appointed under state law) may check voter registration, issue ballots, and assist voters.
Relevant Federal Protections:
Voting Rights Act of 1965 (Section 11): Prohibits intimidation, threats, or coercion of voters;
Civil Rights Act of 1960: Bars discrimination or obstruction in voting;
18 U.S.C. § 594: Criminalizes voter intimidation or interference in federal elections;
DOJ Election Crimes Branch: Prosecutes anyone who interferes with the voting process.
None of this guarantees that the applicable laws will be followed, or that violations would be prosecuted. We’re talking about Trump & Co, after all.
There are fourteen months before the midterms, so I’d like if we on the left could start having discussions about how to make sure the midterms happen as they should, regardless of what Trump throws at us.
I think the first part of the strategy is the same as how we now handle military occupation of two, maybe three, of our cities: absolute non-violence. From what I can tell from the Denver area, far from occupied LA and DC, is that the National Guard seem to be rather benign in their behavior so far.
If ICE or CBP become involved — that wouldn’t make sense legally, but ICE seem to be Trump’s storm troopers — they wouldn’t necessarily need provocation to become violent, based on how we’ve seen them behave already. Same with local police.
Besides maintaining absolute non-violence, I don’t have any ideas. I’d love to hear some, especially from any of you who are vets, National Guard, or active military.
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