Malachi Barrett
October 6, 2020
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said her office is reviewing how open carry laws intersect with the right to vote without fear of harassment as President Donald Trump urges supporters to watch the polls on Nov. 3.
Nessel joined the Democratic attorneys general of Wisconsin and Nevada on a press call Tuesday focused on threats to the upcoming election. Attorneys general expressed concern that the president’s call for his supporters to guard against “a rigged election” could cause voters to be intimidated at polling places on Election Day.
“President Trump’s comments at last week’s debate, urging his supporters to monitor poll sites and engage in active voter intimidation, were very much a disturbing violation of this sacred right,” Nessel said. “His comments were dangerous and reckless.”
The attorney general said she plans to issue a memo to every law enforcement agency across the state with guidance on how to enforce laws preventing voter intimidation. Election challengers and poll watchers are able to observe the election process on behalf of candidates or partisan entities but are prohibited by law from threatening or intimidating voters or poll workers.
“It is a legal right to be a poll watcher, but you cannot use those positions to try and interfere with a person’s right to vote,” Nessel said. “We have to draw the line between what a person can do operating as a legal observer versus what is being done to harass people.”
A series of armed protests at the Michigan Capitol this summer raised questions about whether gun-toting poll watchers could create a dangerous situation on Election Day.
Michigan law is silent on the issue of guns at polling places, which are often located inside schools and churches designated as “weapon-free zones.” Concealed carry is not allowed in weapons-free zones, though licensed gun owners can openly carry in those locations.
The issue has caused confusion in the past, which led cities to individually decide whether to enforce gun restrictions in buildings used as a polling location. Some cities opted to waive restrictions in churches and schools since they were considered a government space during voting hours.
Nessel said she will be providing guidance to local law enforcement officers before the election.
“It’s this combination of your right to vote, cross-sectioned with our pretty liberal open carry laws in the state of Michigan,” Nessel said. “First and foremost, is the right to be able to vote without being intimidated, harassed or threatened.”
Nessel committed to prosecuting anyone who employs voter suppression tactics during the call Tuesday. She said disinformation campaigns have attempted to mislead voters about how absentee voting works ahead of the election.
Last week, she filed charges against two notorious conservative activists for allegedly orchestrating a series of robocalls aimed at suppressing the vote in the November general election.
Jack Burkman and Jacob Wohl allegedly attempted to discourage voters from participating in the Nov. 3 election by creating a robocall targeting Detroit and other urban areas.
The robocalls falsely told people that mail-in voting will allow personal information to become part databases used to track people with old warrants, outstanding debts, and for mandatory vaccination programs.