More than 30% of American election workers say they’ve been threatened and harassed on the job, according to a survey from the Brennan Center for Justice.
U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) wants to ban the open carry of firearms at polling places and official election centers.
He has proposed amending the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which outlawed discriminatory voting practices—like literacy tests and poll taxes—to expand the right to vote.
“Voters, as well as ballot officials, should be spared the intimidation and harassment of people walking up to the line to cast their votes with a firearm visibly present,” Blumenthal said.
U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) also co-sponsored the legislation.
Joanne Moore, who leads the Connecticut League of Women Voters, supports the measure.
“Threats of violence inhibit people from coming to the polls, and it inhibits our ability to get people to work at the polls,” Moore said. “All of this impairs our democracy.”
Connecticut already does not allow open carry.
A proposal to completely ban weapons at polling places in the state failed this legislative session. It faced an uphill battle in the Senate and was taken off the table.
Government Administration and Elections Committee member Sen. Rob Sampson (R-Wolcott) said he was concerned the bill would only keep gun owners from exercising their 2nd Amendment right to carry a firearm.
“I do take issue with the bill and the assertion that folks are somehow not worthy of their constitutional protections because they’re near a polling location or even inside of one,” Sampson said. “The way I look at it is, somebody who is a bad actor intent on harming, they’re not going to care about the law one iota.”
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