The governors of three states — Washington, Nevada and Oregon — said they’re prepared to use the National Guard to help with potential civil unrest on Election Day or the days after.
Heeding warnings from the Department of Homeland Security about threats of violence during the week of the presidential election, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee and Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo activated National Guard members to support local and state law enforcement. Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek hasn’t activated her state’s National Guard, but her office said Monday that Guardsmen are “trained and ready” in case they’re needed.
In a joint bulletin, DHS and the FBI warned of potential violence from domestic extremists who believe claims of election fraud or harbor anger toward perceived political adversaries. The agencies wrote that extremists would likely target voting locations, ballot drop-boxes, voter registration locations, political rallies, campaign events and the offices of political parties.
In the lead-up to the election, some of those warnings have become realities. An Arizona man was accused of shooting at a Democratic National Committee office last week near Phoenix. Also last week, ballot boxes in Portland, Oregon, and Vancouver, Washington, were set on fire, and hundreds of ballots were destroyed.
In response to the ballot-box fire in his state, Inslee sent a letter Friday to Maj. Gen. Gent Welsh, the adjutant general of the Washington Military Department, activating the National Guard to standby status. The activation will expire just after midnight Friday.
“The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has warned that threats to election infrastructure during the 2024 election cycle remains high. The southwest region of Washington state has already experienced specific instances of election-related unrest,” Inslee wrote. “I am directing the Washington National Guard to prepare to provide critical public safety support by activating necessary Washington National Guard personnel in a standby status.”
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Inslee wrote that the Guardsmen could support local law enforcement and the Washington State Patrol to “protect vital infrastructure related to carrying out free and fair elections and to respond to any unrest related to the 2024 general election.”
In Nevada, one of seven key swing states, Lombardo said he would activate 60 members of the National Guard in Carson City and Las Vegas to standby status on Election Day. If called upon, they’ll help with tasks like traffic enforcement, building security and communications, the governor’s office said in a statement last week.
“After consulting with stakeholders across the state, I have decided that a precautionary activation of the National Guard makes sense at this time. We do not expect that these personnel will need to be deployed,” Lombardo said.
The Oregon governor’s office will monitor instances of voter intimidation or election interference and coordinate with local, state and federal agencies “to ensure Oregon voters can safely cast their ballot,” Kotek’s office said in an email. While the Oregon National Guard hasn’t been activated, it could be called upon to support law enforcement “if they reach their capacity,” the office said.
William Banks, a Syracuse University law professor who wrote a book about the domestic role of the U.S. military, described the governors’ actions as reasonable.
“The precautionary measures by governors — activating or placing on alert members of their state National Guard — are reasonable in the same way that similar call-ups would precede a major storm that threatens a state,” Banks said. “The governors would order the Guard personnel to quell any violent disturbances, but not to interfere in any way with voting or counting. In some circumstances monitoring that line up to election interference can be challenging, but that’s the task presented.”
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Increased threats of violence against poll workers, in addition to false conspiracies about election fraud, prompted some election officials to increase security at the polls in preparation for Tuesday. Some municipalities have implemented safeguards like panic buttons and bulletproof glass, The Associated Press reported.
The Justice Department established a special hotline for people to report harassment or other types of voting interference. The hotline — 888-636-6596 — became available Saturday and will remain open until Nov. 8. And the Committee for Safe and Secure Elections created a public service announcement, in which local election officials and retired military officers urged Americans to not interfere with the voting process or engage in political violence.
Despite the concerns, extremism experts are predicting any election-related violence would likely occur after Election Day, rather than while voting is taking place.
“Don’t let fear and intimidation keep you from exercising your right,” said Wendy Via, co-founder of the Global Project Against Hate and Extremism. “People need to be prepared and cautious, but not afraid.”
This story was produced in partnership with Military Veterans in Journalism. Please send tips to MVJ-Tips@militarytimes.com.
Nikki Wentling covers disinformation and extremism for Military Times. She's reported on veterans and military communities for eight years and has also covered technology, politics, health care and crime. Her work has earned multiple honors from the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans, the Arkansas Associated Press Managing Editors and others.
