This post is part of MurMur’s ongoing series on the 2026 midterm elections. Read the rest of the series here.
During one of Michigan’s Senate debates, one exchange focused on a camera on a utility pole. Democrat Abdul El-Sayed said the federal government should regulate Flock, whose cameras photograph every car that passes. Republican Mike Rogers said states can handle it and that the cameras help catch suspected terrorists. The debate over cameras is part of a broader concern about a surveillance state.
The Michigan Senate Race
Abdul El-Sayed, a physician and former Detroit health director, is the Democratic nominee. Mike Rogers, a former FBI agent and congressman, is the Republican and narrowly lost the 2024 Senate race. Recent polls show El-Sayed ahead.
Why Flock Cameras Worry People
With advances in technology, businesses and governments now collect data about nearly everyone, and artificial intelligence makes that data far easier to search and analyze.
Flock cameras have become the best-known example because they are everywhere and because ICE has access to the data as part of Trump’s mass deportation efforts. They log every passing vehicle’s plate, make, color, and even bumper stickers, which police say helps solve crimes such as car thefts. According to the ACLU, any law enforcement agency with a Flock contract can search that database.
In Texas and Florida, police officers allegedly used the database to track an ex-wife and an ex-girlfriend. The Texas officer has pleaded not guilty to felony stalking.
Immigration enforcement is an example of the government accessing this data to monitor and track individuals, which the ACLU says happens without warrants. Flock has no formal contract with ICE, but audit records from one Illinois police department show more than 4,000 searches by agencies nationwide with immigration-related reasons such as “ICE,” though some cited Homeland Security Investigations, which also investigates other crimes.
The Government’s Own Data
Government-held data raises the same tension. A federal judge found the IRS broke the law about 42,700 times by sharing taxpayer information with ICE. According to court filings by Democratic attorneys general, ICE also passed improperly shared Medicaid data to Palantir, which says it was purged.
The midterms themselves have also become a flashpoint in the tension between election security and privacy. The Justice Department has sued 30 states and the District of Columbia for full voter files, including partial Social Security numbers, saying it needs them to confirm accurate rolls. As of October 1, CBS News reports, no court had ruled in its favor.
Where the Two Candidates Differ
Rogers has spent much of his public life in national security, first as an FBI agent and then as chair of the House Intelligence Committee. In 2012 he backed renewing Section 702, which lets the government collect foreign targets’ communications, including Americans’ messages gathered for another purpose (I wrote about this in April). In 2013 he opposed limits on the NSA’s bulk collection of Americans’ phone records. In 2024 he said the FBI was wrong to search those Americans’ messages, blaming “a culture issue and a leadership issue,” but he did not say whether he would require a warrant. His current position is unclear.
His campaign says he opposes unchecked use of Flock cameras on law-abiding citizens, though he left Congress before Flock existed. El-Sayed wants Washington to regulate Flock, and Rogers says the states can handle it.
Who Sets the Limits
So far, courts and city councils have set most of the limits. Judges have blocked IRS data sharing and rejected voter-file demands. City councils can decide whether and how to use Flock, and the ACLU reports that more than 200 cities have ended contracts. Congress has mostly been absent from the discussion. How to balance safety and liberty in the age of artificial intelligence is too big a question to leave to judges and city councils alone. Michigan’s next senator will help decide whether Congress keeps sitting it out, keeps backing the administration’s expanding surveillance powers, or redraws the lines to protect both safety and liberty.
What You Can Do
Vote. Check your registration at USA.gov, which sends you to your state’s official site. Avoid VoteSafe.org. It is run by America PAC, which Elon Musk funds, and the site says it can share what you enter with business partners and combine it with other data about you for marketing.
Volunteer or give. Join a local campaign or Volunteer Blue, or give to candidates you support or to Vote Save America.
Curious about Flock cameras where you live? The ACLU’s Flock page explains what the cameras do and how communities are pushing back.
Endnotes
Debate exchange on Flock, federal regulation and states, and the candidates’ positions: Michigan Public, Rogers, El-Sayed debate gets hostile as candidates clash in pivotal US Senate race, October 9, 2026.
Debate moments: The New York Times, 5 Key Moments From a Hostile Michigan Debate, October 2026.
Polling edge for El-Sayed (Susquehanna Polling and Research, El-Sayed 46%, Rogers 39%, August): ABC News affiliate coverage, Poll: Senate hopeful El-Sayed takes 7-point lead over Republican opponent, August 19, 2026. Check for a newer poll before publishing.
Flock as a midterm issue; Rogers campaign position and that Flock did not exist when he left Congress: ABC News, How Flock cameras are becoming an issue in the midterm elections, September 4, 2026.
How Flock cameras work, who can search the database, warrantless immigration-agent use, and 200-plus cities ending contracts: ACLU, Get the Flock Out, updated October 9, 2026.
Katy, Texas officer charged with stalking and misusing official information, pleaded not guilty: KEDT, Former Katy officer faces charges after allegedly using Flock cameras to track ex-wife, August 26, 2026.
Florida case (Orange City officer, ex-girlfriend) and other cases: 404 Media, Cops Keep Getting Arrested for Using Flock to Stalk People.
Danville, Illinois audit records showing more than 4,000 immigration-related searches, and the Homeland Security Investigations caveat: Lucy Parsons Labs, ICE Taps into Nationwide AI-Enabled Camera Network, Data Shows.
IRS shared taxpayer information with ICE; judge found about 42,695 violations (February 2026 ruling): CPA Practice Advisor, Appeals Court Upholds Block on IRS-ICE Taxpayer Data Sharing Deal, September 9, 2026.
Medicaid data passed to Palantir; Palantir says the dataset was purged: NPR via Michigan Public, ICE shared Medicaid data it wasn’t supposed to have with Palantir, July 17, 2026.
Justice Department suits against 30 states and D.C., data requested, stated rationale, and no court rulings in its favor as of October 1: CBS News, The Trump administration has filed 31 lawsuits seeking states’ voter data. Here’s where they stand., updated October 1, 2026.
NRSC ad, Rogers’ statement, and the Islamophobia characterization: NOTUS, Republicans Are Running Ads Attacking ‘Abdulrahman Mohamed El-Sayed’, August 6, 2026.
No evidence of Muslim Brotherhood ties; January 2026 designation of the Egyptian branch: Bridge Michigan, Fact check: No evidence Abdul El-Sayed pledged support to Muslim Brotherhood, September 3, 2026.
Rogers’ 2012 co-sponsorship and vote on the five-year Section 702 renewal: House roll call 569, H.R. 5949, via What’s The Vote, September 12, 2012; sponsors via BillTrack50, https://www.billtrack50.com/billdetail/344602.
2013 vote on the Amash amendment and Rogers’ defense of the NSA program (failed 205 to 217): Voice of America, US House Votes Down Attempt to Halt NSA Surveillance Program, July 24, 2013.
Rogers on FBI searches of Americans’ data under Section 702 and “a culture issue and a leadership issue”: Michigan Public, Meet Republican candidate Mike Rogers, July 24, 2024.
Voter registration check: USAGov, How to confirm your voter registration status.
VoteSafe.org and America PAC: Cybernews, Elon Musk’s ‘VoteSafe’ site is harvesting and selling voter data, September 2026. Cybernews reports the site’s terms allow sharing or selling data; confirm the exact wording on the site itself.