The memo says officers generally should not be at polling places unless they are carrying out legitimate law enforcement duties or voting. If present, officers are subject to the same rules as other election observers. Armed federal agents and members of the military are not allowed at polling places, according to the guidance.

Poll workers should promptly notify their municipal and county clerks and commission staff if agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Department of Homeland Security or the FBI arrive, the memo says.

Commission administrator Meagan Wolfe said officials do not expect unusual activity on Election Day. She said clerks had requested guidance after receiving hundreds of emails from voters and groups asking how they would respond if officers appeared. Wolfe described the memo as routine contingency planning intended to help clerks, not alarm voters.

Commissioners said local police in some communities regularly check in with election staff. Commissioner Ann Jacobs said those visits are less intimidating when officers come in plain clothes rather than in uniform with weapons and protective gear.

Republican Commissioner Robert Spindell opposed the guidance, saying it could discourage people from voting. He called it unnecessary, arguing that similar instructions had not been needed in the state’s history. The commission’s move comes amid heightened national concern about the possibility of armed federal agents at polling places.