Bannon Calls For “Up-Armored ICE Presence” at the Polls. In Key States, New Program Ensures Voters Won’t Face It Alone

Rev. Al Sharpton and AFT President Randi Weingarten join the Save America Movement to launch a new program to defend communities of color in Georgia, Michigan, Ohio and North Carolina in the face of federal intimidation

WASHINGTON, Sept. 02, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Steve Bannon has called ICE’s airport deployments a “test run” for the 2026 midterms and is now calling for an “up-armored ICE presence” at the polls this fall. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin declined to rule out sending federal agents to polling places at his confirmation hearings. Under these threats, a coalition led by Reverend Al Sharpton, President of the National Action Network, and Randi Weingarten, President of the American Federation of Teachers, alongside the Save America Movement (SAM), today launched Vote Safe — a coordinated campaign bringing together coalitions of veterans, faith leaders and other trusted community voices to stand with voters facing federal intimidation at the polls, concentrated in the counties where voters are at most risk.

“Black Americans have faced intimidation at the ballot box for generations, and we did not march, bleed, and die for the right to vote only to see fear used as a weapon against us again. No voter should have to wonder whether exercising their constitutional right will put them at risk. If anyone thinks the presence or threat of federal agents will frighten our communities away from the polls, they are badly mistaken. We will organize, we will stand together, and we will make sure voters know their rights and know they are not alone," said Rev. Al Sharpton, President of the National Action Network,” said Rev. Al Sharpton, President of the National Action Network.

Vote Safe is training hundreds of community members — clergy, veterans, and neighbors voters already know — positioned at key polling locations throughout Georgia, Michigan, Ohio, and North Carolina, where organizers anticipate armed federal agents are most likely to appear, and where their presence could have a significant impact on turnout in the closest statewide races in the country.

Vote Safe is focused on the communities that are under the greatest pressure from the Trump administration. Vote Safe is concentrating its footprint where the data says pressure is most likely and in counties that have already faced scrutiny from the Trump Administration. By communicating with Black, Latino, and Asian voters well before early voting and through Election Day, Vote Safe seeks to overcome ICE-related voter hesitation or fear to vote by delivering on the promise that trusted neighbors and leaders will be there to have their back during Early Vote and on Election Day.

“The Supreme Court gutted Voting Rights Act protections right on schedule for the midterm elections, and now they’re leaning on fear to finish the job. The threat of armed federal agents descending on polling places is an attempt to intimidate us and control who gets to hold power in this country. It won’t work. Vote Safe exists so that people know the community has their backs at the ballot box, with someone standing beside them who knows their rights and knows the law, so that fear doesn’t get the last word,” said Randi Weingarten, President of the American Federation of Teachers.

Vote Safe will station hundreds of trained volunteers in key counties across the four states. Volunteers are trained in de-escalation, deterrence, and documentation, along with the specific laws governing each state and precinct. Their role is not to confront: it is to bear witness, answer questions, and make sure voters know their rights in real time — so no one in those precincts stands at the ballot box alone. Every volunteer documents what they see, feeding a central repository monitored in real time by SAM, which reviews reports and, where warranted, shares them with local and national press and law enforcement.

​​"The right to vote in America has been purchased in blood. It is not open for debate or negotiation. The American people will vote. They will vote in record numbers, and they will vote in defiance and disgust against the insanity at hand and bring it to heel. We the people will not be intimidated, and our vote is coming,” said Steve Schmidt, co-founder of SAM.

The program is based on a strategy SAM built and executed over the past year through Operation Liberty, which leverages local trusted voices and wartime photo and video journalists to organize communities, document ICE conduct and community impact, and communicate effectively in cities across the country. The program has logged thousands of hours of footage that reached millions and has been entered as evidence in local, state, and federal court cases.

"The right to vote isn't a Democratic idea or a Republican idea — it's the idea this country was built on. When you've got clergy, veterans, and organizers from every side of the aisle standing at the same precinct for the same reason, you realize access to the ballot is bigger than one party. Vote Safe exists so that Trump’s intimidation campaign fails and that the voters are able to cast their ballots with confidence and the reassurance of knowing their local community has their back. Voters shouldn’t be intimidated on Election Day, not this year, not ever,” said Mary Corcoran, co-founder and executive director of SAM.

The program runs through the full early voting window in each state through Election Day. More information, including how to volunteer or report an incident, is available at samvotesafe.org.

PRESS CONTACT: Emily Hoyle, e: emily@focalpointstrategygroup.com; p: 971-330-9993