Poll workers are being trained to prepare for guns at polling stations

An early Vote Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
(Image credit: AFP/Getty Images)

Donald Trump has urged his supporters to "watch the polling booths" on Nov. 8, a rallying cry that has election officials worrying — and training for how to deal with guns or possible attacks at the polls.

It is an unprecedented situation; in fact, most states don't even have laws governing guns at polling places, sending election officials scrambling to sort through their states' various open-carry and concealed weapons laws, The Washington Post reports.

"We've never seen this level of concern, this far out from Election Day — poll workers in states across the country being trained to deal with guns," Everytown for Gun Safety spokeswoman Erika Soto Lamb said.

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In Colorado, for example, poll workers are being trained on how to respond to a mass shooting at the voting site. In Philadelphia, election commissioner Lisa Deeley is also considering training law enforcement officers on what to do if someone opens fire. "It's one of the many things that we are contemplating prior to election day," Deeley told The Guardian. "There's a lot that we have to hash out, and it's a new unfortunate reality that we have to think about these things."

Trump, stoking fears of a rigged election, has told his supporters, "You've got to go out, and you've got to get your friends, and you've got to get everybody you know, and you gotta watch the polling booths." He has also claimed that "Second Amendment people" could stop Hillary Clinton.

In a recent report by The Boston Globe, one voter explained, "Trump said to watch your precincts. I'm going to go, for sure. I'll look for…well, it's called racial profiling. Mexicans. Syrians. People who can't speak American. I'm going to go right up behind them. I'll do everything legally. I want to see if they are accountable. I'm not going to do anything illegal. I'm going to make them a little bit nervous."

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Jeva Lange

Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.