National Guard units across the country are being quietly mobilized for next week's midterm elections, despite reassurances from the Pentagon brass that it has "no plans" to involve itself in the elections.

The Guard's mission spans all 50 states, military sources tell me. Its focus is supporting federal government cybersecurity efforts; but Guardsmen will also be observing ballot drop boxes and polling places, in addition to safeguarding so-called critical infrastructure.

This follows Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth's unprecedented decision to order military spy agencies to "mobilize every asset … to defend our election" so that "every lawful voter can cast their ballot free from foreign intimidation, coercion, or fear." 

It's not clear whether Hegseth's directive that voters be "free" of foreign influence extends to the theories Donald Trump has floated about foreign meddling in the 2024 election. Those theories hang over his suggestion that he'll accept the midterm results only if the election is fair. Either way, the administration is fixated on the idea of election interference, with Attorney General Todd Blanch recently alluding to a "doomsday" plan, as I reported.

Also without precedent is the direct involvement in the election of Task Force Raider, U.S. Cyber Command's effort to "protect" the midterm elections (the existence of which I reported earlier this month). Since that report, sources tell me that Task Force Raider is already in full swing.

The National Guard, which normally answers to state Governors, looks different. So far only seven states have publicly acknowledged the Guard's involvement in any form: Alabama, Arizona, Colorado, Iowa, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania and Washington.

Iowa, for example, mobilized its own "Joint Task Force Cyber" and is manning the state's Emergency Operations Center to monitor and defend election networks. "Our Guardsmen have supported multiple election cycles and regularly train in national exercises to stay ahead of emerging digital threats," says the Iowa National Guard's Brig. Gen. Mark Kappelman.

Then in Washington state, Gov. Bob Ferguson last week wrote to county auditors offering an "Election Neighborhood Watch": National Guard members in civilian clothes who would observe ballot drop boxes and other voting areas.

Meanwhile, specialists from the Alabama and Oklahoma National Guard earlier this month responded to two incidents where suspicious mail packages containing white powder arrived at the Secretary of State's office and the State Election Board. The result, military sources tell me, is that all 50 states have placed their "Civil Support Teams" on standby for similar incidents.