Are election volunteers preparing for federal agents potentially intimidating voters at polling sites?

Claim: Ahead of the 2026 U.S. midterm elections, some election volunteers are training for what to do if federal agents attempt to intimidate voters at the polls. Rating: In late October, with Election Day less than two weeks away, a post on Threads (archived) about the purported experience of a volunteer at the polls captured social media users' attention. According to the post, the volunteer's training focused on what to do if federal agents, such as officials with U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement or the Department of Justice, intimidate voters at election sites. The post read: I've been volunteering at the polls for the last 6 years and I just finished the training for Nov. 3rd. Six years ago the training covered what to do if some MAGA instigators tried to disrupt voting. Training for this election focused on what to do if DHS, DOJ, ICE, or the Military attempted to intimidate voters. In 6 years we went from random private citizens to our very own government trying to block our constitutional right to vote. That is f…ing horrifying. Users shared the post on other social media sites, such as Facebook (archived). Snopes readers searched the site and sent us emails asking whether the claim was true. There are nonprofit, voting-oriented organizations that have been training polling-site volunteers on what to do if federal agents are present and intimidate voters. Therefore, we've rated this claim true. We attempted to reach out to the Threads user who made the original post to ask more about her experience, but were unable to direct-message her via the social media platform. To be clear, someone does not have to be an election worker — such as someone who counts votes — to volunteer at the polls. Republicans and Democrats alike have volunteers who monitor polling sites, and nonprofit organizations, particularly those focused on voting concerns, also have volunteers active at voting locations. For example, Hands Off Our Vote, which is supported by various civil rights organizations and community groups, keeps a toolkit for people and groups to use to host trainings that will "equip volunteers with the skills to handle federal interference (including ICE/ feds at the polls)." In a report detailing ways it and other organizations may handle armed federal agents at polling sites, the Brennan Center for Justice — a nonprofit group focused on democracy and criminal justice — said civic engagement organizations are providing guidance to volunteers monitoring polling sites on what to do, "such as documenting and reporting agents' activity while avoiding confrontation." Civic engagement groups in the Chicago area prepared volunteers for potential federal immigration action during the primaries, according to local news reporting from March. The Save America Movement, which has previously documented ICE operations in various American cities, is participating in Vote Safe, a project between multiple organizations designed to decrease voter hesitancy in minority groups intimidated by the potential of federal agents at polling sites. According to the Save America Movement, it plans to train and have "teams of local activists, volunteers, veterans, and faith leaders stand alongside voters at polling locations, serving as a visible deterrent against intimidation." According to reporting from NPR, Living United for Change in Arizona has trained what the organization has called "constitutional observers" to monitor polling sites. NPR reported that the group wants people on the ground in the case ICE agents are at polling sites. Snopes reached out to the group through Facebook Messenger to confirm the group has been training volunteers on what to do if federal agents are at polling sites. We'll update this story if we receive a response. For further reading, Snopes has fact-checked a number of rumors about voting ahead of the midterms, including a claim that voting machines in Illinois were flagging Republican picks as unpopular.