Steve Bannon calls for ICE presence at 2026 midterm polls, warns against ‘stealing the country’

WASHINGTON, DC: Former White House strategist Steve Bannon said federal immigration officers should “surround the polls” during the 2026 midterm elections, drawing sharp attention from political observers and legal experts.

On his War Room podcast, Bannon repeated comments suggesting a role for Immigration and Customs Enforcement at polling places in November, framing the idea as a way to prevent another disputed election.

Steve Bannon pushes ICE role at polls

“You’re damn right, we’re gonna have Immigration and Customs Enforcement surround the polls come November,” Steve Bannon said, emphasizing that Republicans will not allow elections to be stolen.

His remarks came amid ongoing debate within the Republican Party over election integrity, voting rules, and federal oversight of state-run elections.

"We’re not gonna sit here and allow you to steal the country again. And you can whine and cry and throw your toys out of the pram all you want, but we will never again allow an election to be stolen.”

Bannon’s proposal closely aligns with recent comments from President Donald Trump, who has urged Republican officials to “nationalize” elections in key states and suggested broader federal involvement in the voting process.

Legal expert warn against federal control of elections

Katy Tur discussed Steve Bannon’s comments with James Sample, a law professor at Hofstra University.

“When you talk about nationalizing elections, especially nationalizing them on a partisan basis, ‘We need Republicans to take over 15 states,’ you’re not actually trying to promote election integrity. You are affirmatively seeking to undermine election integrity as a predicate to do things that are also unconstitutional,” Sample said.

“The election wasn’t stolen. When you’re talking about people who were not supposed to vote in elections, the idea that there’s fraud, the number is minuscule. Minuscule,” Tur said.

“In Georgia, I think it was eight people total that weren’t citizens who voted fraudulently. But eight people in Fulton County in the ballots that they just seized? But this messaging is pervasive, and it is preying upon people who want to be convinced that they’re being sidelined, that the government is corrupt,” Tur said, reacting to Bannon.

Bannon has pushed for Immigration and Customs Enforcement to be present at polling places, an idea he has promoted as Donald Trump continues to insist the 2020 election was “stolen,” despite courts, audits, and state officials finding no evidence of widespread fraud.

Trump has also said Republicans should “take over the voting in at least 15 places.” Both Democratic Party and Republican Party officials have pushed back, noting that states retain final authority over how elections are run."