Federal agents banned from polling places during voting
S. 5474 — Safe Access to the Polls Act · Filed by Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) · 1 cosponsor · Introduced Sep 23, 2026 · Referred to committee
Your members of Congress
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What it does
This bill stops the federal government from paying to station Department of Homeland Security agents at polling places. It also bans National Guard members in uniform from being there. The bill bans federal checkpoints that block people from voting. It aims to stop federal police from scaring voters.
Who it affects
Voters are affected. The bill protects their right to vote without fear or blockades from federal police. It makes sure all people can vote the same way.
One thing to notice
The bill only stops federal agents at polls. State or local police are not covered. The rule covers a quarter-mile radius. Agents outside that area might not be covered.
From the analysis of the bill text, linked under Primary records below.
Where it stands
1 cosponsor: 1 Democrats.
- Sep 23, 2026 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in Senate”
- Sep 23, 2026 — Referred to Senate Committee on Rules and Administration · Congress.gov: “Read twice and referred to the Committee on Rules and Administration”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
Words to know
- Department of Homeland Security — A federal agency that handles border security and immigration work.
- National Guard — Military troops that can be called to help in emergencies or state needs.
- polling places — Buildings or locations where people go to vote.
- scaring — Making someone afraid or threatening them to stop them from doing something.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (764 characters) on Oct 3, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 16,222 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
As of — page rendered 2026-10-20.
“Federal agents banned from polling places during voting” QuorumCivic. https://share.quorumcivic.app/bill/119/s5474/simple Report an error
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