The development and understanding of electrostatic actuations in liquid solution can be a difficult task. The large voltages that are commonly employed for electrostatic actuation in air can cause electrolysis at the various solid-liquid interfaces. At the nanoscale, this challenge is compounded by the presence of various surface forces. We demonstrate that the electrochemical Surface Force Apparatus can be employed to characterize the response of electrostatic actuators in nanoscale gaps. We show that low voltage DC actuation can be used to cause displacements at the nanoscale due to variations in the electrical double layer. We also demonstrate that double layer forces can be used to make or break contact between two surfaces and even to cause surface deformations, all without mechanically moving either substrate. Control over displacement, and associated deformations, is obtained by varying the surface energy as accomplished by regulating the surface charge density. The displacement can be evaluated as a function of applied potential with subnanometer resolution.