U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement warned on X that it would investigate and prosecute anyone who votes illegally, as concerns about voter intimidation surfaced on Election Day. (Foto: Instagram)
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) posted a warning on X on Tuesday, Nov. 3, the day of the country’s midterm elections, saying it would pursue anyone who votes illegally. The agency said it would find and hold accountable people who violate election rules.
“If you vote illegally, we will find you. We will track you down, arrest you and prosecute you. There will be no escape,” the post said.
The warning came amid concerns about possible voter intimidation. Civil rights organizations have gone to court to challenge federal agents’ presence near polling places. The government, meanwhile, has said ICE and FBI personnel will not serve as election observers.
The Trump administration has stepped up efforts to investigate possible illegal voting by people who are not U.S. citizens. Federal law bars noncitizens from voting in federal elections, although cases of such violations are considered rare.
On Monday, Nov. 2, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected the federal government’s request to set aside about 20,000 California ballots while voters’ citizenship was checked. The administration said the voters’ names appeared on a list of people it considered potentially noncitizens and sought to prevent their ballots from being counted until their immigration status was confirmed. The court issued an unsigned decision without detailed reasoning, and no justices were recorded as dissenting. Lower courts had also rejected the request. California officials argued the government had not shown that the people on the list were noncitizens or had cast ballots.
Polling places opened across all 50 states on Tuesday for the midterm elections. Vermont was the first state to begin voting, at 7:15 a.m. Brasília time. The District of Columbia, home to Washington, also participated. The elections will determine the makeup of the House of Representatives and part of the Senate, as well as state offices. Voters are choosing 35 of the Senate’s 100 members, all 435 House members and 36 governors. The election is taking place as President Donald Trump’s administration faces questions about its leadership, an extended war with Iran and rising living costs.
More than 58 million voters had cast early ballots nationwide, according to a University of Florida tally, exceeding the early-vote total in the 2022 midterms. Voters are also deciding ballot measures on subjects ranging from election administration rules to abortion access.
