The guidance, finalized Oct. 15, says federal agents who want to observe voting must check in and follow the same rules as other election observers. Dane County Clerk Scott McDonell and county attorney David Gault object that this language does not clearly distinguish armed agents from unarmed ones and could leave poll workers unsure how to respond.

Federal law bars troops and armed federal personnel from polling places except in narrowly limited circumstances. Another federal law prohibits voter intimidation by people acting under the authority of law. Gault argues that an unarmed but uniformed immigration agent could still intimidate voters and should not be treated as a legitimate observer.

“There is no legitimate reason for ICE to be at a polling place,” Gault wrote to Wisconsin Elections Commission Administrator Meagan Wolfe on Oct. 15, the day the guidance was finalized. McDonell called the instructions inaccurate and confusing, saying poll workers could interpret the observer provision as applying to armed federal agents.

Commission attorney supervisor Angela O’Brien Sharpe said the guidance does not permit armed federal observers. She said federal law does not address every circumstance in which federal agents might appear, and that unarmed agents seeking to observe would be subject to Wisconsin’s observer rules. Poll workers may remove observers if they have a reasonable basis to believe they are intimidating voters or disrupting voting.

The commission’s instructions tell chief inspectors to notify their municipal clerk if federal agents arrive. For agents conducting law enforcement work rather than observing, election officials are advised to request identification and any warrants, document the encounter and, when possible, ask officers to conduct their business outside the voting area.

The guidance also addresses armed, uniformed local officers, leaving inspectors to assess whether their presence intimidates or disrupts voters. Its discussion of federal restrictions on armed personnel appears later in the document than the passage on federal agents observing, a structure Gault says could mislead poll workers.

Legal experts disagree on whether Wisconsin could bar unarmed federal agents in uniform from observing categorically. Election law specialist Justin Levitt said the commission’s guidance was legally sound and noted that the state and Dane County agree armed agents are barred and that inspectors can remove people who intimidate voters. He cautioned that singling out federal officials for a blanket ban could create legal problems.

Sterling Knoche, a staff attorney with the University of Wisconsin-Madison Law School’s State Democracy Research Initiative, said the legality of an unarmed agent’s presence would depend on the circumstances and the person’s conduct. Wisconsin Elections Commission officials have likewise said the question is less clear when agents are unarmed.

Local preparations vary. Marathon County Clerk Kim Trueblood said she would not allow a uniformed federal officer to register as an observer, even if unarmed, and believed officials would have strong grounds to treat a uniform as intimidating. Green Bay Police Chief Chris Davis said the state guidance would help officials make quick decisions if agents appeared. Green County Clerk Arianna Voegeli said the guidance arrived late but that she had already advised local officials and discussed preparations with law enforcement.

Wisconsin officials have been preparing for months for possible federal law enforcement activity at polling places. The Elections Commission developed its guidance after receiving hundreds of questions from local clerks, less than three weeks before Election Day. The prospect of ICE or FBI agents specifically seeking to monitor voting has little precedent, adding to uncertainty for the officials responsible for keeping polling places accessible and free from intimidation.