MADISON — Local election officials are preparing for the possibility that federal agents could appear at Wisconsin polling places during the November election, a scenario they said could endanger poll workers and disrupt voting. U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin discussed election security Monday with Dane County Clerk Scott McDonell, Sun Prairie City Clerk Elena Hilby and Waunakee Village Clerk Karla Endres at Madison’s City-County Building. Baldwin said President Donald Trump and his administration were undermining confidence in elections while voters are struggling with high costs. “With everything so unaffordable, so expensive, the Trump administration should be focused on that,” Baldwin said. “But instead, I think, they are worried that they’re going to be held accountable for things this election, and so they’re selling conspiracy theories.” Baldwin pointed to Trump’s repeated false claims about the 2020 election and to administration proposals and actions involving absentee ballots, voter identification and federal access to voter-registration information. She also criticized promises to deploy federal law enforcement or National Guard personnel to polling places, which opponents have warned could intimidate voters. The Trump administration’s effort to obtain Wisconsin’s voter rolls was blocked in May by a federal judge, according to the discussion. The Department of Homeland Security is also working to assemble a national voter-registration database that could be used by Immigration and Customs Enforcement to identify noncitizens who are registered to vote. The three clerks said Wisconsin’s election process includes public testing of voting equipment, observation of voting and transparent counting procedures. Election workers plan for equipment failures and other disruptions so problems can be identified and ballots can still be counted, McDonell said. “We assume failure at every point along the way, and so we’re checking to make sure everything’s accurate as we go along,” he said. Hilby said Sun Prairie is training poll workers on how to respond if federal agents arrive. She said workers would need to follow the law while avoiding a confrontation that could put them at risk. “An armed federal agent is illegal to have at the polling place,” Hilby said. She added that poll workers should ask why agents are there and whether they have a warrant, then contact local election administrators and attorneys rather than confront them directly. McDonell said local officials are developing emergency plans and retaining criminal defense attorneys, including lawyers familiar with federal court, in case they need to seek immediate legal relief. He said it was frustrating that clerks were having to prepare for the possibility without more specific direction from the Wisconsin Elections Commission. The commission has issued guidance this year on problems involving the U.S. Postal Service, McDonell said, but has not provided comparable instructions for handling federal agents at polling places. “It’s good to have some statewide advice on how to handle these situations, but it is tough,” McDonell said. “A lot of planning is going on behind the scenes for different scenarios.” The officials’ concerns come as Wisconsin election workers continue to face false allegations of fraud that grew after the 2020 presidential election. They said their focus remains on protecting voters and poll workers while maintaining a process that is open to public observation at every stage.