Remember when Obama got Elected? The Black Panthers were seen outside a polling place in battle gear, threatening people who didn’t vote for Obama. Election interference? That’s not the only example, but it makes a point. And the Panthers don’t know who you voted for, but how many white voters were scared away, we’ll never know.
The police didn’t do anything, and the government didn’t do anything. If I recall correctly, no one did anything despite the reporting and complaints.
Sixteen years later, MoveOn.org has a petition to ban firearms at polling places.
More than 30,000 MoveOn members have signed the petition to demand we make polling locations gun-free zones! Join them by adding your name now.
Dear MoveOn member,
Election Day is less than a week away, and the safety of voters and poll workers is critical. Currently, 33 states allow guns in voting stations in some capacity.1 Thousands of MoveOn members have already taken action to demand Congress ban guns at the polls nationwide—but we need your help to keep up the momentum.
Let’s be clear: This is a commonsense step our government can take NOW to put an end to this intimidating practice.
It’s common for states to have restrictions for what is allowed at polling sites. If there are laws limiting apparel, buttons, and petitions, it is reasonable for our government to take steps to restrict guns and help keep all polling sites safe for all.
With Election Day just around the corner, and early voting starting in many states across the country, we need Congress to immediately act to ensure the safety of voters by making every polling station a gun-free zone now.
Will you sign the petition calling on Congress to act and protect voters nationwide?
Democracy means that everyone can vote freely and safely, and that’s the cornerstone of the work we do at Common Cause. In the last year, we’ve taken bold action to protect voters and poll workers by pushing states to outlaw guns at the polls.
But in these final days before the November 5 election, as we continue to push for local progress, we need to ramp up our federal demands to pass a nationwide ban on guns at the polls.
Add your name to the petition if you agree polling sites should be gun-free zones.
Thanks for all you do.–Digital Campaigns Manager Devon Bhakta and the team at Common Cause
P.S. See our recent email below with more details on why we’re calling on Congress to ban guns at polling locations nationwide.
Their thinking is that you can already ban things (electioneering, shirts, hats, ID, proof of citizenship), so why not guns? People need to feel safe when they vote, as if that would do it. And it’s a problem. Thirty-three states (including my own) do not prohibit firearms when voting.
Six states in 2020 prohibited both openly carried and concealed guns at the polls: Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana and Texas, according to the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence. In 2021, Virginia became the seventh state. Four states prohibit only concealed carry at polls: Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska and South Carolina, according to Giffords. In March, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee signed a bill to ban openly carried guns at election facilities.
Except that, I’m reminded of another fact. There’s no evidence in my state of anyone using a firearm during an election to intimidate voters or polling place personnel. Never. I can’t speak for every state, but a quick search produced few relevant results and no actual crime.
Two points.
First, the number one goal here is outright disarmament. The second is to make it so inconvenient to carry that, over time, people choose not to do it.
How?
The linked Politifact article invokes the specter of Jan 6th, even though no “protestors” were armed. Be afraid, but Isn’t that what MoveOn wants? Disarmed citizens – the feds were the only ones with firearms. One of them murdered Ashli Babbit with a gun.
Is that supposed to mean the J6ers (and the rest of the garbage) are mad about that and seek to amend the error of their ways? “Well, y’all saw us (burp) up at the US Capitol (fart) with no firearms. Not making that mistake again.”
Sorry, no. And the Moobs at MoveOn know that – at least the folks pulling the strings. Law-abiding citizens aren’t going to shoot up the local election location they need open if they are to defeat Harris and the Democrats. (They would not start mail-in ballot boxes on fire, either). But hey – what if someone wanted to do that? They would need to make sure it was a soft target. And since the goal is to discourage white middle-Americans more likely to vote Republican – they need those bastards helpless.
And what do you know? There has been speculation that polling place violence could be used to fubar November 5th. Create a little chaos, some crisis, and they (the blob and it’s little blobulettes) would DO ANYTHING to protect establishment power.
So? Is MoveOn trying to tell us something?
A littleleft-wing election-day interference is coming our way.
