The Push To Allow Guns At Polling Places Is Straightforward Voter Intimidation
There is no reason for open carry of guns at the polls except to intimidate voters, which is a federal crime.
There is an unmistakable effort underway to intimidate voters — specifically Democratic voters — when they go to the polls. The president himself has repeatedly
threatened to send law enforcement to voting locations to hunt for supposed voter fraud, while
more organic efforts include bullhorns, honking cars with Trump flags, and shouting confrontations directed at people lined up at early polling stations in blue or purple areas.
Bringing and displaying weapons at voting sites is one facet of potential intimidation that’s emerged in the weeks leading up to Election Day. There is an organized push from right-wing groups to show up at the polls with guns: a development election officials fear will create an unsafe environment for other voters to cast their ballots. In one swing state, an effort to limit the presence of guns at polling locations was met with a court fight and a standoff between the state’s election officials and some members of law enforcement.
Each state
has specific laws around whether guns are permitted at voting locations — but only about a dozen states explicitly ban open and/or concealed carry of firearms at the polls. The legality of bringing a gun to vote can hinge on a technicality, like whether the polling place is a church, school or government building.
But the legal wrangling over who is allowed to arm themselves at which polling locations obscures a more straightforward point: voter intimidation is a federal crime everywhere in the U.S., and many voters would feel intimidated by visibly armed people at their polling places.
The Push To Allow Guns At Polling Places Is Straightforward Voter Intimidation
Do not allow Trump supporters to intimidate you at the polls. Stand your ground and cast your vote. Voting is probably the greatest and most sacred constitutional right that we have.
