NAACP v. DHS: Plaintiffs Seek Expedited Discovery on Armed Agents Near Polls; Judge AliKhan Sets Briefing, No Ruling

The plaintiffs in NAACP v. DHS (D.D.C.), their suit over federal agents near polling places, filed a motion for limited expedited discovery on 10/05/26. The defendants oppose it. In a minute order signed 10/08/2026, Judge Loren L. AliKhan ordered the defendants to respond by October 13, 2026 and the plaintiffs to reply, if they choose, by October 16, 2026. The motion has not been decided.

Among the items the plaintiffs request are the two internal DHS directives that, in the plaintiffs’ account, established and expanded what DHS has called the “Unlawful Voter Initiative”. The motion says, as the plaintiffs’ allegation, that DHS has directed a surge of Homeland Security Investigations agents into at least nine states between early September and mid-October.

The suit sits beside the other polling-place cases (2026-09-10–lulac-unidosus-denver-sue-dhs-armed-ice-polling-places, 2026-09-23–dscc-dccc-dga-sue-trump-admin-armed-agents-polling-places); the surge is recorded at 2026-09-01–dhs-hsi-voter-fraud-surge-nine-states-midterms.