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


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.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
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."
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
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.
-
A tall ship adventure in the Mediterranean
The Week Recommends Sailing aboard this schooner and exploring Portugal, Spain and Monaco is a 'magical' experience
-
How drone warfare works
The Explainer From Ukraine to Iran, it has become clear that unmanned aircraft are rapidly revolutionising modern warfare
-
The tourist flood in the Mediterranean: can it be stemmed?
Talking Point Finger-pointing at Airbnb or hotel owners obscures the root cause of overtourism in holiday hotspots: unmanageable demand
-
Canadian man dies in ICE custody
Speed Read A Canadian citizen with permanent US residency died at a federal detention center in Miami
-
GOP races to revise megabill after Senate rulings
Speed Read A Senate parliamentarian ruled that several changes to Medicaid included in Trump's "One Big Beautiful Bill" were not permissible
-
Supreme Court lets states ax Planned Parenthood funds
Speed Read The court ruled that Planned Parenthood cannot sue South Carolina over the state's effort to deny it funding
-
Trump plans Iran talks, insists nuke threat gone
Speed Read 'The war is done' and 'we destroyed the nuclear,' said President Trump
-
Trump embraces NATO after budget vow, charm offensive
Speed Read The president reversed course on his longstanding skepticism of the trans-Atlantic military alliance
-
Trump judge pick told DOJ to defy courts, lawyer says
Speed Read Emil Bove, a top Justice Department official nominated by Trump for a lifetime seat, stands accused of encouraging government lawyers to mislead the courts and defy judicial orders
-
Mamdani upsets Cuomo in NYC mayoral primary
Speed Read Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani beat out Andrew Cuomo in New York City's Democratic mayoral primary
-
Supreme Court clears third-country deportations
Speed Read The court allowed Trump to temporarily resume deporting migrants to countries they aren't from