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Bans on Guns in Polling Places

The 2020 election cycle saw an alarming increase in reports of intimidation against voters and election officials. Guns at polling places, even if not used to commit violence, can be used to intimidate voters and election officials, as evidenced by our country’s long and fraught history of political violence, often targeted at Black voters and other historically disenfranchised groups. Combined with the marked rise in threats to election officials and violent rhetoric around elections, the proliferation of firearms in our country represents an increasing danger for everyone participating in the voting process. There is currently no federal law prohibiting the possession of firearms in polling places, and therefore these policy decisions are left to the states. Our map distinguishes between states with total prohibitions on guns in polling places, and states with partial bans. Partial bans have exceptions for either open or concealed carry of firearms.
United States Map
Washington New York U.S. Virgin Islands Puerto Rico Guam Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands American Samoa New Hampshire Vermont Virginia Pennsylvania New York Maine West Virginia Ohio Kentucky Indiana Michigan Illinois Wisconsin North Carolina South Carolina Tennessee Georgia Florida Mississippi Missouri Arkansas Louisiana Iowa Minnesota Oklahoma Kansas Nebraska South Dakota North Dakota Texas 33 Colorado Wyoming Montana Idaho Arizona Utah Nevada Oregon California Hawaii Alaska Massachusetts Rhode Island Connecticut New Jersey Delaware Maryland Washington D.C. New Hampshire Vermont
  • State has a clear prohibition against guns in polling places  (17 states + D.C.)
  • State has a partial prohibition on guns in polling places (7 states)
  • State has no clear prohibition against guns in polling places  (26 states)
Recommended citation: Movement Advancement Project. "Bans on Guns in Polling Places." https://www.mapresearch.org/democracy-maps/guns_in_polling_places. Accessed 10/09/2024.

Breakdown by Population

*Note: These percentages reflect the voting-eligible population, as reported by the United States Election Project.

55%

55 % of voting-eligible population lives in states that have a total prohibition on guns in polling places

12%

12 % of voting-eligible population lives in states that have a partial prohibition on guns in polling places

33%

33 % of voting-eligible population lives in states that have no clear prohibition against guns in polling places



Data current as of 09/04/2024
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The term “sexual orientation” is loosely defined as a person’s pattern of romantic or sexual attraction to people of the opposite sex or gender, the same sex or gender, or more than one sex or gender. Laws that explicitly mention sexual orientation primarily protect or harm lesbian, gay, and bisexual people. That said, transgender people who are lesbian, gay or bisexual can be affected by laws that explicitly mention sexual orientation.

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