Maine GOP gubernatorial nominee Bobby Charles seeks request to deploy ICE, U.S. Marshals at polling sites, outlet reports

Bobby Charles, a Republican nominee for governor in Maine, said he would ask the Trump administration to deploy Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers and U.S. Marshals to polling places during the midterm elections, according to an audio recording obtained by the Bangor Daily News and reported by The Hill.

Charles, in the audio, referenced asking White House border czar Tom Homan to carry out the request, according to The Hill’s report. The proposal would shift federal enforcement resources toward election sites, an area typically governed by state election law and federal protections for lawful voting, with enforcement decisions and jurisdictional authority subject to legal review and coordination.

The Trump administration has continued to expand certain border and customs enforcement activities through federal agencies, according to recent Federal Register documents. For example, a Federal Register notice published Aug. 25 describes U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner actions establishing four Customs-Enforcement Areas in near-shore waters around South Florida, central and southern California, Puerto Rico, and the Gulf Coast of Texas, as part of efforts to interdict smuggling vessels.

No White House, Department of Justice, ICE, or U.S. Marshals Service document was identified in the provided materials that confirms any plan to assign ICE officers or U.S. Marshals to polling places in Maine or elsewhere for election day enforcement. Under the circumstances, the Charles proposal remains a reported request by a candidate rather than an administration-confirmed operational plan.

If carried out, such a deployment would raise questions about election administration and federal-state roles, including how enforcement officers would be authorized to act at polling sites and how they would coordinate with local election officials while respecting requirements tied to lawful voting and voter eligibility.

Charles is seeking the Maine governorship, and his request arrives as states prepare for November midterm voting. Maine’s election laws and procedures, including rules on access to polling places and the role of law enforcement, would likely be central to any effort to change enforcement posture on election day, according to general election-administration practice and the constitutional separation of state election machinery from federal immigration enforcement.

The next step would be confirmation or denial from the federal agencies involved about whether any directive, memorandum, or operational plan exists that would place ICE or U.S. Marshals at polling locations, and whether such a plan, if proposed, would be limited, time-bound, or subject to constraints tied to court rulings and election law.