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Orange County Supervisor of Elections Karen Castor Dentel told VoxPopuli Monday that she takes Steve Bannon’s comment that there will be U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers patrolling polling locations during the midterm elections “very seriously."
Castor Dentel said that her office is working closely with local law enforcement to “enhanc[e] our internal security measures” [and] “monitor threats in any kind of chatter that's out there.” She added that “all eligible voters will be able to vote without being hampered … to make sure that everyone’s voice is heard.”
A former senior advisor to President Donald Trump, Bannon made the statement last week, on his War Room podcast, saying, “We’re going to have ICE surround the polls come November.” He also said that they'd never allow Democrats "to steal the country again." His comments followed Trump’s last week to Dan Bongino, a podcaster-turned-FBI-deputy director-returned-podcaster, that Republicans should “nationalize the elections.”
It is a federal crime for federal agents to interfere in elections, intimidate voters and deploy to polling locations, according to the Brennan Center for Justice.
Castor Dentel recalled that in the 2024 election “there were bomb threats in some states.” She said while Orange County didn’t receive any, they were prepared if they had.
“We look at different kinds of scenarios, and we prepare for a response and make sure that we have a safety plan and that our elections continue,” she said.
Castor Dentel added that some voters may be unnerved by Bannon’s words, but others may see them as a challenge.
“There are others who may hear those remarks and actually be more motivated to make sure their voices are heard when they’re told they can’t do something," she said.
Meanwhile, Castor Dentel made a push for mail voting as a way to sidestep going to the polls altogether. Voters “can renew their vote-by-mail ballot request and I would encourage them to do that.”
The deadline to request a mail ballot for the March 10 municipal election in Oakland is 5 p.m., Feb. 26. Mail ballot requests made now will remain active through the next midterm elections in November. There several ways to get a mail ballot: Call the supervisor of elections office at 407-836-VOTE (8683). Fill out the form on the site. Download a vote-by-mail request form in English or Spanish, then send by back by regular mail (P.O. Box 562001, Orlando, FL 32856-2001.)
Correction: An earlier version of this story stated that requests for mail-in ballots made now would remain in effect through the presidential election in 2028. That is incorrect. Requests will remain in effect through the November midterm elections.
