States put the National Guard on standby in case of election violence

The governors of three states – Washington, Nevada and Oregon – said they were ready to deploy the National Guard to help with possible unrest on Election Day or in the days after.

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee and Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo followed Department of Homeland Security warnings of threats of violence during the week of the presidential election and called on National Guard members to support local and state law enforcement. Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek has not activated her state's National Guard, but her office said Monday that the guardsmen are “trained and ready” should they be needed.

In a joint bulletin, the DHS and FBI warned of possible violence from domestic extremists who believe claims of election fraud or harbor anger toward perceived political opponents. Authorities wrote that extremists were likely to target polling places, ballot drop boxes, voter registration sites, political rallies, campaign events and political party offices.

In the run-up to the election, some of these warnings became reality. An Arizona man has been charged with shooting at a Democratic National Committee office near Phoenix last week. Last week, ballot drop boxes in Portland, Oregon, and Vancouver, Washington, were also 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 Department of the Army, placing the National Guard on standby status. Activation expires shortly after midnight on Friday.

“The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has warned that threats to election infrastructure remain high during the 2024 election cycle. There have already been certain instances of election-related unrest in the southwest region of Washington State,” Inslee wrote. “I am directing the Washington National Guard to prepare to provide critical public safety support by placing required Washington National Guard personnel on a standby status.”

Inslee wrote that the Guardsmen could assist local law enforcement and the Washington State Patrol to “protect vital infrastructure related to the conduct of free and fair elections and respond to unrest related to the 2024 general election.”

In Nevada, one of the seven key swing states, Lombardo said he would place 60 National Guard members on standby status in Carson City and Las Vegas on Election Day. When called upon, they assist with tasks such as 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 determined that a precautionary activation of the National Guard makes sense at this time. “We do not anticipate that these personnel will need to be deployed,” Lombardo said.

The Oregon governor's office will monitor cases of voter intimidation or election interference and coordinate with local, state and federal authorities “to ensure Oregon voters can cast their ballot safely,” Kotek's office said in an email with. Although the Oregon National Guard has not been activated, it could be called upon to support law enforcement “as they reach capacity,” the office said.

William Banks, a law professor at Syracuse University who has written a book about the U.S. military's domestic role, called the governors' actions sensible.

“The governors’ precautionary measures – activating or alerting members of their state’s National Guard – are sensible in the same way that similar call-ups would precede a severe storm threatening a state,” Banks said. “The governors would order guards to quell violent unrest but not to interfere in any way with the voting or counting. In certain circumstances, policing this type of election interference can be challenging, but that is the task we are given.”

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Increasing threats of violence against poll workers and false conspiracies about voter fraud prompted some election officials to increase security at polling sites in preparation for Tuesday. Some municipalities have implemented security measures such as panic buttons and bulletproof glass, The Associated Press reported.

The Justice Department has set up a special hotline for people to report harassment or other types of election interference. The hotline – 888-636-6596 – became available Saturday and will remain open through Nov. 8. And the Committee for Safe Elections produced a public service announcement in which local election officials and retired military officers urged Americans not to interfere in the voting process or engage in political violence.

Despite the concerns, extremism experts say election-related violence is likely to occur after Election Day rather than during voting.

“Don’t let fear and intimidation stop you from exercising your rights,” 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 collaboration with Military veterans in journalism. Please send tips to MVJ [email protected].