Guns at voting sites have long sparked fears of intimidation and violence – yet few states ban their presence

Voters have encountered armed poll 'watchers' in Mesa, Ariz. AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin

A couple in Mesa, Arizona, was dropping off their ballots on Oct. 21, 2022, for the forthcoming midterm election when they saw two people carrying guns and dressed in tactical gear hanging around the Maricopa County drop box. The armed pair left when officers later arrived.

It wasn’t an isolated incident. A lawsuit filed Oct. 24 by Arizona Alliance for Retired Americans and Voto Latino noted that on several occasions “armed and masked individuals” associated with the group Clean Elections USA had gathered at drop boxes in the county “with the express purpose of deterring voters.”