CBP agents at voting site were South Floridians trying to vote, officials say

Florida Politics admin October 25, 2026 0 Comments

CBP agents at voting site were South Floridians trying to vote, officials say

An investigation into why Customs and Border Patrol vehicles were seen at a polling location in Florida revealed the agents had stopped there to try and vote, officials said on Friday.

On Oct. 19 around 10:15 a.m., two CBP vehicles were seen parked at the Bruce J. Host Northeast Branch Library in Leon County, according to Supervisor of Elections Mark S. Earley. The site is the county’s busiest early voting location, according to Earley.

The presence of the agents, though no voters reported it, sparked concern over the possibility of armed agents being positioned at the polls. Federal agencies have assured elections officials that there won’t be a federal presence at Florida polls, as it would be a violation of 18 United States Code section 592, which prohibits the presence of armed forces at election sites.

The CBP vehicles were seen near the polling site for about 10 minutes before leaving. After making a complaint to the FBI, Earley said, the agency reached out to officials at CBP, who were surprised, as they said they did not have any officially marked vehicles assigned to that area of Florida.

The Leon County Sheriff’s Office obtained footage from exterior cameras at the library. The footage showed the vehicles entering and exiting the site and allowed investigators to capture their vehicle identification numbers, which were forwarded to CBP, according to Earley.

The FBI told Earley that CBP identified the vehicles as assigned to a team of agents normally stationed in South Florida who had recently been reassigned to a location north of the state.

While traveling north on U.S. Highway 319, the agents approached the library early voting site, the last voting location on the highway before leaving Florida, according to Earley. Realizing they would be out of the state on Election Day, they mistakenly believed they could vote at the site. However, they were not registered voters in Leon County. Upon realizing their mistake, the agents left the site.

“I accept this account of the incident, as it fits the facts as I understand them, and it is in keeping with the guarantees election officials received that federal agents would not be stationed at polling sites,” Earley said in a statement. “I am satisfied this was an isolated instance of agents attempting to vote before they left Florida”