Sen. Ed Markey says Democrats already have lawyers drafting an emergency Supreme Court case in case President Donald Trump interferes with Tuesday’s election, and that people should be ready for “a national strike” on Election Day. “We have lawyers who are already drafting the emergency case to be brought to the Supreme Court of the United States before the election and then in the immediate aftermath,” Markey said in a joint interview this week with GBH News and Boston 25 News, Boston.com reported. His Republican opponent, John Deaton, called the remarks “reckless and dangerous.”
Markey’s comments have circulated widely on X since Wednesday. Below is what he said, what Deaton said, and what federal and Massachusetts law actually provide on the scenarios Markey described: armed federal agents at polling places, and winners being kept from their seats.
What Markey said
All quotations below are from Boston.com’s account of the GBH News and Boston 25 interview.
- The scenario. Markey cited reports that the Trump administration could deploy Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents on Election Day or invoke the Insurrection Act to send the military into communities. “I don’t think that there’s anything beyond the pale that he would not consider,” Markey said. He suggested Trump would try to ensure that winning Democrats are not seated after the midterms “so that he is not then faced with an impeachment process.”
- The lawyers. Besides the Supreme Court filing, Markey said, “We’re also in a process of having thousands of lawyers get ready to be deployed all across our country in the key states at those election stations in state after state around the country.”
- The strike. “We have to be ready on Election Day to have a national strike. We have to be ready to have millions of people come out of their homes to be protesting what Trump is trying to perpetrate as an electoral crime on our nation’s history.”
- The politics. “The cost of everything is up, and Donald Trump is being blamed for it, electorally,” he said. “Someone’s going to have to pay the price, and it’s going to be Republicans on the ballot this November.”
Markey did not say who is drafting the case or what it would ask the Court to do, according to Boston.com’s account.
What Deaton said
“A United States Senator should be lowering the temperature, not calling for a national strike and shutdowns in the streets a week before an election,” Deaton said, according to Boston.com. He said voters deserve leaders “who respect the rule of law, trust the voters, and settle differences at the ballot box,” and added: “Ed Markey has been in Washington for 50 years, and this is what it has turned him into. Massachusetts needs a senator who will calm things down, not stir them up.”
The law: troops and armed agents at the polls
Two federal criminal statutes deal directly with the scenario Markey raised. We read both at Cornell’s Legal Information Institute.
- 18 U.S.C. § 592. It is a federal crime, punishable by up to five years in prison, for any “officer of the Army or Navy, or other person in the civil, military, or naval service of the United States” to order, bring or keep “any troops or armed men at any place where a general or special election is held, unless such force be necessary to repel armed enemies of the United States.” A person convicted is also disqualified “from holding any office of honor, profit, or trust under the United States.”
- 18 U.S.C. § 593. Members of the armed forces may not prevent or try to prevent “by force, threat, intimidation, advice or otherwise any qualified voter of any State from fully exercising the right of suffrage,” impose election rules “different from those prescribed by law,” or interfere “in any manner with an election officer’s discharge of his duties.” The penalty is the same.
Section 592 reaches civilian federal employees as well as the military. Whether it would apply to a particular deployment of armed federal agents would depend on the facts, and no court has had to decide that for this election. Massachusetts law separately governs who may be inside a polling place and bars interference with voters. Our guide to federal poll monitors in Boston and Lowell, and what they can and can’t do.
The law: who decides who gets seated
- Massachusetts certifies the winners. Under G.L. c. 54, § 115, the governor and at least five members of the Governor’s Council examine the returns and “determine who appear to be elected.” Under § 116, the governor issues certificates of election to the winners of U.S. Senate and House races. No certificate may issue until after 5 p.m. on the fifteenth day after the election, which this year is November 18, unless a statewide or district recount is under way. We read both sections at malegislature.gov.
- New terms begin January 3. The Twentieth Amendment provides that the terms of senators and representatives end “at noon on the 3d day of January,” and “the terms of their successors shall then begin.”
- Each chamber judges its own members. Article I, Section 5 of the U.S. Constitution says “Each House shall be the Judge of the Elections, Returns and Qualifications of its own Members.” The president has no role in seating members of Congress.
- The limit on that power. In Powell v. McCormack, 395 U.S. 486 (1969), the Supreme Court held that “the House is without power to exclude any member-elect who meets the Constitution’s requirements for membership,” and that in judging qualifications, “Congress is limited to the standing qualifications prescribed in the Constitution.” We read the opinion on CourtListener.
The Senate race
Markey, a Democrat seeking a third full term, faces Deaton, the Republican nominee, and independent Shiva Ayyadurai on Tuesday. A federal judge this week rejected Ayyadurai’s second bid to force The Belmont Voice to cover his campaign. Early voting in Massachusetts ends Friday, October 30. Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Tuesday, November 3.
Frequently asked questions
What did Ed Markey say about a national strike?
In a joint interview with GBH News and Boston 25 News, Markey said, “We have to be ready on Election Day to have a national strike,” and that millions of people should be ready to protest if President Trump tries to interfere with the election, according to Boston.com.
How did John Deaton respond?
Deaton called the remarks “reckless and dangerous” and said a senator “should be lowering the temperature, not calling for a national strike and shutdowns in the streets a week before an election,” according to Boston.com.
Is it legal to send troops to a polling place?
Federal law, 18 U.S.C. § 592, makes it a crime for a federal officer or other person in federal service to bring or keep troops or armed men at a polling place unless the force is needed “to repel armed enemies of the United States.” The penalty is up to five years in prison and disqualification from federal office.
Can a president stop an elected member of Congress from being seated?
The Constitution gives that judgment to each chamber of Congress, not the president. Under Powell v. McCormack (1969), the House cannot exclude a member-elect who meets the Constitution’s age, citizenship and residency requirements.
Sources: Boston.com, October 29, 2026, reporting on a joint GBH News and Boston 25 News interview. 18 U.S.C. §§ 592 and 593 read at Cornell’s Legal Information Institute; U.S. Const. art. I, § 5, read at the National Archives; U.S. Const. amend. XX read at Cornell; G.L. c. 54, §§ 115 and 116 read at malegislature.gov; Powell v. McCormack, 395 U.S. 486 (1969), read on CourtListener. General information, not legal advice.