Blanche sidesteps questions on federal agents at polls

What they're saying: When Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) asked whether Blanche would "commit to following clear federal law" by not deploying armed federal agents to polling places, Blanche replied that he would "commit to following the law … no matter what it includes."

• Klobuchar also asked if he understood why federal agents are a concern to voters, as some advocacy groups say it's a form of voter intimidation.
• "I'm not aware of armed agents being at polling places, so I don't. I'm not aware of that concern, but I will tell you we will follow the law."

Context: Federal law generally prohibits "troops or armed men" from being deployed to polling places, except in narrow circumstances, such as repelling "armed enemies" of the U.S.

Driving the news: In response to an FOIA request, U.S. Customs and Border Protection denied it had any documents related to ICE deployments at polling places.

• The agency later reversed course after the plaintiff pointed to agents deployed outside active voting sites in both Texas and California.
• A federal judge then ordered CBP to begin processing any documents relating to potential ICE deployments at polling locations on Monday.

Between the lines: Multiple administration officials have also declined to explicitly rule out ICE presence near polling places, including DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin and White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt.

• Mullin said ICE wouldn't be present for "intimidation" purposes, but could be present if a "specific threat" arises. He said he was unable to predict what kind of threat might warrant ICE presence.
• Leavitt said in February that she couldn't "guarantee that an ICE agent won't be around a polling location in November," but noted the president wasn't considering such a proposal.

Zoom in: A Homeland Security spokesperson told Axios that "ICE is not planning operations targeting polling locations."

• The spokesperson added in the email: "ICE conducts intelligence-driven targeted enforcement, and if an active public safety threat endangered a polling location, they may be arrested as a result of that targeted enforcement action."

Flashback: Blanche told attendees at CPAC earlier this year that Americans shouldn't have objections to ICE at polling places.

• "Why is there objection to sending ICE officers to polling places?" Blanche asked. "Illegals can't vote. It doesn't make any sense."

The latest: Department of Justice spokesperson Kiersten Pels told Axios that Blanche was highlighting what she called "an obvious irony": that people who say they support voting rights object to ICE seeking to prevent people living in the U.S. illegally from voting unlawfully

• She added in the email that the DOJ "follows the law with respect to election integrity."

Zoom out: There is no evidence that undocumented immigrants have illegally voted in U.S. elections in numbers large enough to sway the outcome.

• Voting rights groups say federal agents at polls can intimidate voters, causing some Americans to feel unsafe and chilling voter turnout.
• Multiple federal statutes prohibit voter intimidation, making it illegal to intimidate, threaten, or coerce a person with the intent of "interfering" with that person's right to vote.

Go deeper: Exclusive: ICE obtains local voter files in Texas and North Carolina

Editor's note: This story has been updated with comment from spokespeople for the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security.