October 23, 2026

Contact: Christopher Moore

Email: Chris.Moore@LeonVotes.gov

UPDATE - Leon County Supervisor of Elections Provides Statement Regarding Border Patrol Vehicles at Early Voting Site

Leon County, FL – Mark S. Earley, Supervisor of Elections in Leon County, has issued the following update regarding the brief presence of Customs and Border Patrol vehicles at an Early Voting site.

"As has been previously reported, on Monday, October 19th at around 10:15 a.m., two Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) vehicles parked at the Bruce J. Host Northeast Branch Library, our busiest Early Voting site. This was shortly after the start of Early Voting here in Leon County. The two vehicles appeared to stay for approximately 10 minutes before leaving the vicinity of the site. It is worth noting that we did not receive any calls from voters regarding the incident. All reports of the incident state that the occupants of the vehicles did not appear to go inside and vote. As had been stated in the write-up of the incident, the only legitimate reason for those agents and vehicles to enter a polling site would be if the agents were there to vote.

In the buildup to this election, great concern was voiced repeatedly to election officials by voters worried about the possibility of armed federal agents, such as CBP, being positioned at the polls. In response to voters’ concerns, we were reassured by those federal agencies that there would not be a federal presence at the polls, because such a presence would be in violation of 18 United States Code section 592.

As has also been reported, after learning of this incident, I have been in close communication with our local, state, and federal partners about this issue, including lodging a formal complaint with the FBI.

It has been reported to me that FBI agents reached out to CBP. CBP initially reported some surprise at this report, because to their knowledge, they did not have any officially marked vehicles assigned to this area of Florida.

As research into this incident progressed, the Leon County Sheriff’s office was able to obtain video from exterior cameras at the NE Library, where the early voting site is located. Those cameras showed the vehicles entering and later exiting the early voting site traffic flow. This footage also allowed the Sheriff’s office to capture the vehicle identification numbers, which were forwarded to CBP.

According to the FBI, with this additional information, CBP was able to identify the two vehicles as being assigned to a team of agents normally stationed in south Florida, who were recently reassigned to a location north of Florida. As they were traveling north out of the state on US Hwy 319, the agents approached our NE Library early voting location and realized they were leaving Florida and would not be present on Election Day. The NE Library voting site is the last voting location on US Hwy 319 before leaving Florida. Mistakenly, the agents thought they could vote at that location, which is incorrect since they were not Leon County voters. Upon realizing this, they immediately left the early voting 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. I am satisfied this was an isolated instance of agents attempting to vote before they left Florida.   

As noted previously, there were no complaints from voters at the time. Although I notified our local, state, and federal partners and lodged a formal complaint, this office only spoke publicly about the incident upon learning that the press was about to release a story based on information they had learned independently from this office.

I appreciate the efforts and focus of all agencies involved with researching this situation and want to reassure our voters that they are safe voting in person.

Make your voice heard. Vote in the 2026 General Election!"

Voters with questions are encouraged to contact the Supervisor of Elections Office at Vote@LeonVotes.gov, or (850) 606-8683, Monday – Friday, 8:00 a.m. – 5 p.m.