DC primary election takes place smoothly despite escalating military presence
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 16, 2026
MEDIA CONTACT: media@freedcproject.org, (202) 771-1921
DC primary election takes place smoothly despite escalating military presence
200+ nonpartisan volunteers, Election Protection hotline, and rapid response command center protected rights of DC voters
Washington, DC —A massive Election Protection effort in Washington DC helped make sure the District of Columbia's June 16 primary election went smoothly despite an ongoing and escalating military presence in the capital city.
The DC Election Protection Coalition, led by Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law in partnership with national and local nonprofit organizations, organized more than 200 trained, nonpartisan volunteers to assist voters and monitor voting locations across DC for problems on Election Day. Throughout the day, volunteers responded to simple questions about voter ID and voter registration as well as issues of electioneering by campaigns. Volunteers also provided pizza to voters waiting in long lines.
Coalition volunteers also monitored and documented the presence of National Guard soldiers and police at voting locations. National Guard and law enforcement are supposed to stay at least 50 feet away from all polling locations and dropboxes. The Election Protection hotline, 866-OUR-VOTE, and rapid response command center staffed by legal volunteers responded to incidents.
“National Guard soldiers stayed away from DC voting sites today for the most part because community members stepped up to make sure we could vote freely and fairly,” said Keya Chatterjee, Executive Director of Free DC which is a member of the Coalition. “DC is in our tenth month under military occupation and four weeks into a summer surge, and today’s election happened safely despite that. I want to thank every single volunteer who was out at the polls or working the hotline today to protect our elections. We know that it will take some time to certify results, and we are collectively ready to enforce our election results if and as needed.”
“Today’s election in DC went smoothly,” said Nicholas Gothard, Senior National Coordinator of Election Protection at the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. “Voters across DC contacted 866-OUR-VOTE asking for information about voting rules and how to properly adhere to them, and we received very few reports of intimidation or other major problems. We want to thank the DC Board of Elections and poll workers across DC for administering this free and democratic election.”
“Voting under occupation is unacceptable,” said Hani Mirza, Director and Senior Attorney of the Power and Democracy Program at Advancement Project. “Despite this disturbing reality, the Election Protection Coalition was able to mobilize hundreds of community members to help ensure eligible voters were able to cast a ballot that counts as safely and easily as possible. We want to thank our volunteers, movement partners, and the DC community for standing up to authoritarianism.”
The DC Election Protection Coalition will release a report in the coming weeks detailing findings from DC’s June primary and the effort undertaken by Coalition members.
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Election Protection is the national, nonpartisan coalition that works year-round to ensure that all voters have an equal opportunity to vote and have that vote count. Made up of more than 300 local, state and national partners, Election Protection uses a wide range of tools and activities to protect, advance and defend the right to vote. Learn more at 866ourvote.org.
Free DC is the renewed campaign to protect DC Home Rule and win lasting dignity for the people of the District of Columbia. Learn more and get involved at FreeDCProject.org.