How Democrats Are Mobilizing to Counter Potential Election Interference Amid Trump Concerns

Longdale Elementary is a 1st Congressional district polling location in Henrico, Virginia, on Election Day, Aug.

4, 2026. —Mike Kropf—Richmond Times-Dispatch/Getty Images With the midterm elections less than two months away, Democrats are training thousands of volunteers on how to respond to any potential incidents of voter intimidation at the polls in November.

The New Battlefield Project—an initiative that is being coordinated by the Association of State Democratic Committees (ASDC), which operates under the Democratic National Committee (DNC)—involves training at least 10,000 volunteers so that they’ll be equipped to counter interference or intimidation at polling locations across the country if such situations arise, says Jane Kleeb, the chair of the Nebraska Democratic party and president of the ASDC .

The on-the-ground team—dubbed the “Democracy Protectors”—will be wearing blue to distinguish themselves, and will be trained in de-escalating conflicts and documenting any potential “bad actors and bad behavior.” Information about such incidents would then be passed along to the state party and the DNC to take action where necessary.

Kleeb says the volunteers will also be helpful resources to voters—for instance, they can help direct people to the right polling locations.

The trainings, Kleeb adds, are based on constitutional observer trainings that the Minnesota Democratic Party coordinated amid Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids in the state.

In addition to the Democracy Protectors, the New Battlefield Project includes teams that are focused on encouraging citizens to register to vote and to vote early, as well as on dispelling any misinformation or disinformation spreading online ahead of Election Day.

The DNC musters an election protection program every year, and states sometimes train volunteers to perform similar tasks.

But this year’s effort is larger in its scope and is being coordinated nationwide.

Kleeb says Democrats were spurred to launch the initiative because of speculation and concerns they were hearing from voters, candidates, and elected officials that President Donald Trump could send federal agents to polling places.

“About six months ago, state parties really started to put in place a program that we thought would address the threat of Donald Trump and what we think his allies are doing this cycle,” Kleeb says.

“We heard Trump and Steve Bannon talking about how they could potentially be sending the National Guard, the military, or ICE agents outside of polling locations.” “We take them very seriously,” she continues.