Caine tells Slotkin there are no plans to send military to polls in November

Joint Chiefs of Staff Chair Gen. Dan Caine told Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) in a letter that there are no plans to send the military to the polls in November’s midterm elections.

“Election administration and security remain the fundamental responsibility of state and local officials. 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,” Caine said in his letter to the Michigan senator.

“Likewise, the Joint Force has no plans to use such personnel to seize ballots, voting machines, or other election related material,” he added.

Earlier this month, Slotkin sent letters to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Caine, requesting that they confirm they wouldn’t send U.S. service members to polling places this year. Slotkin asked the two military leaders to confirm the Pentagon “will not send Federal troops to the polls or to seize election materials of any kind.”

Slotkin, who holds positions on the Senate Armed Services and Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committees, referenced comments from President Trump on nationalizing the midterm elections.

“Let me just say that stranger things have happened, OK? I’ll leave it at that,” Trump told conservative commentator Wayne Allyn Root, after Root suggested the president could declare a national security emergency to federalize the midterms.

In his letter to Slotkin, Caine said that he had “neither received nor anticipate receiving any unlawful order concerning the role of the Joint Force in the upcoming November 2026 midterm elections.”

“I stand ready to discuss this matter further with you or with other Senators,” he added.