Hegseth falsely claims Biden deployed troops to polls in 2024

"I will note that in 2024, troops were -- that was Joe Biden by the way, Joe Biden -- were deployed to polling locations in 15 states," Hegseth said April 29, 2026 before the House of Representatives (archived here).

He repeated: "2024, Joe Biden, troops deployed to polling locations in 15 states. Explain that one to me."

The Pentagon chief was responding to Democratic Congresswoman Jill Tokuda, who asked whether he would comply if President Donald Trump ordered him to send troops to polling sites. Tokuda cited a federal law that prohibits deploying armed forces to such locations unless doing so is "necessary to repel armed enemies of the United States" (archived here).

Pressed again by Democratic Senator Elissa Slotkin the next day, Hegseth offered a slightly revised version of his claim, saying that "in 2024, under the Biden administration, 15 states did deploy troops to polling stations" (archived here).

The spats came as the campaigns for control of Congress entered their final six months before November's midterm elections. Trump has expressed regrets about not ordering the military to seize voting machines back in 2020, as he sought to overturn that election.

In a May 6, 2026 statement, chief Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell told AFP: "Secretary Hegseth is absolutely correct, and the Department of War stands by his testimony."

"While Joe Biden was president, National Guard offered various levels of support in 15 states, mainly ran by Democrat Governors, for during the 2024 election," Parnell said, naming Alabama, Arizona, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, West Virginia and Wisconsin.

But Hegseth's claim that Biden put troops at the states' voting locations was more pointed -- and inaccurate.

The National Guard Bureau told AFP that the Guards personnel activated during Election Day in 2024 were "on state active duty," meaning they were serving their governor or state (archived here). They were "providing cybersecurity and general support." 

AFP also contacted all 15 states on Parnell's list. The 10 that responded all said their troops were not summoned to the polls, but instead focused on other support tasks, such as helping technology staff in the event of a cyberattack.

In fact, two of the states -- Oregon and Washington -- conduct their elections entirely by mail. Three additional states that spoke to CNN also rejected Hegseth's claim (archived here).

US media reports indicate that National Guard members were similarly readied across the country in 2020.

Hawaii

Jeff Hickman, director of public affairs for Hawaii's Department of Defense, told AFP in a May 7, 2026 email: "The governor did not 'deploy' or activate the Hawaii National Guard to support the 2024 elections."

Chief Elections Officer Scott Nago said his office was "not aware of any troops being deployed to any polling locations."

Illinois

Matt Dietrich, public information officer for the Illinois State Board of Elections, told AFP that for the 2024 elections, the state had "Illinois National Guard cybersecurity personnel available in the event of a cybersecurity incident."

"The support was limited to incident response and no Guard members were ever at polling places," Dietrich said in a May 6, 2026 email.

"There were no incidents reported. Even if there had been an incident, it's highly unlikely that it would have resulted in any Guard presence in a polling place."

He said similar agreements were arranged for other federal elections.

Iowa

Jackie Schmillen, the Iowa National Guard's director of public affairs, said the National Guard assisted the state in 2024 "by providing cybersecurity support," adding that this happens "in all major elections."

"We do this from the State Emergency Operation Center located in Johnston, Iowa," Schmillen told AFP in a May 6, 2026 email. "We are not stationed at Iowa's polling locations."

New Mexico

Michael Coleman, director of communications for New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham, said the New Mexico National Guard has supported the state's elections with cybersecurity and by protecting key facilities for "many cycles."

The troops help information technology staff "monitor their network for intrusions," he told AFP in a May 6, 2026 email.

They also "provide a secure building at their Santa Fe HQ for the secretary of state to monitor operations on Election Day."

"Hegseth's assertion is false as it pertains to New Mexico," Coleman said. "There were no members of the NM National Guard at polling places in 2024, any assertion to the contrary is false."

North Carolina

The North Carolina National Guard's public affairs office told AFP in a May 11, 2026 email that they "did not have any personnel deployed to polling stations in the 2024 presidential election."

Patrick Gannon, public information director for the North Carolina State Board of Elections, also confirmed that no Guard members were mobilized to polling locations.

Oregon

Oregon conducts its voting entirely by mail, and the state's National Guard members were prepared only in case of disruptions at post offices or drop box sites, said Luke Harkins, press secretary for Oregon Governor Tina Kotek.

"Secretary Hegseth's information is incorrect," Harkins told AFP in a May 6, 2026 email. "The notion that the Oregon National Guard was activated at polling locations is simply false."

Stephen Bomar, director of public affairs for Oregon's Military Department, further confirmed the Oregon National Guard was "not called up to provide any additional support to law enforcement."

Pennsylvania

The Pennsylvania National Guard told AFP in a May 6, 2026 email that none of its members were sent to voting sites.

Instead, they "provided liaison officers to the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency and City of Philadelphia's Office of Emergency Management to aid in interagency coordination and information flow."

A spokesperson for Governor Josh Shapiro's office separately confirmed that Shapiro activated "six Guard members" from November 4 to November 6, 2024 for this support, adding: "No Guard members were located at polling locations."

Texas

The Texas Military Department referred AFP in a May 7, 2026 email to its statement to CNN saying National Guard members "were not at polling stations" during the 2024 election.

The personnel were "on standby status at a state military installation, prepared to provide emergency management support." Two additional service members provided liaison support at an emergency operations center.

Washington

Like Oregon, Washington state conducts elections entirely by mail, said Karina Shagren, communications director for the Washington Military Department, in a May 6, 2026 email.

"Washington did not deploy members of the WA National Guard to polling locations," Shagren told AFP.

Brionna Aho, from Governor Bob Ferguson's office, reiterated that the Guard was "on standby and never deployed."

"We don't have polling stations," she said.

West Virginia

West Virginia National Guard spokesperson Zoe Morris said in a May 7, 2026 email to AFP that the state's personnel had merely "provided cybersecurity support" during the 2024 election.

"They were not present at polling stations."

Other states

Representatives from Arizona, Delaware and Wisconsin told CNN that their states did not have any National Guard presence at polling locations in 2024, as Hegseth claimed.

A spokesperson for Delaware's governor, for example, said 15 service members offered cybersecurity support, working remotely or from the state's technology office.

Those three states did not respond to AFP's requests for comment. Nor did Alabama and Tennessee.

AFP has fact-checked other claims about US politics here.