Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer recently signed bills into law that make it illegal to have guns at polling locations or counting centers across the state.
House Bills 4127 and 4128, sponsored by Rep. Penelope Tsernoglou, D-East Lansing, and Rep. Stephanie A. Young, D-Detroit, will help increase election security and public safety by banning people from possessing firearms at polling locations, counting centers and near ballot drop boxes.
“This legislation is about protecting our democracy and everyone who makes it work. Voters, election workers and officials should never feel threatened or intimidated at the polls,” said Young. “By creating safe, weapon-free zones around polling places and counting boards, we’re reinforcing the principle that violence has no place in our electoral process.”
House Bill 4127 makes it illegal to possess a firearm within 100 feet of a polling location on Election Day or to have a gun within 100 feet of a ballot drop box for 40 days before an election. This legislation also applies to early voting sites.
Voters also cannot possess firearms within 100 feet of a city or township clerk’s office when dropping off an absent voter ballot. House Bill 4128 also restricts people from having guns at centers where election workers count absentee ballots.
The legislation does not apply to law enforcement officers, people permitted to carry firearms on private property, those who are licensed by the state to carry a concealed pistol or people who are lawfully transporting firearms.
This follows Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson’s attempt in 2020 to ban the open carry of guns at polling places on Election Day, but the directive was struck down by a Michigan Court of Claims judge, and then denied by the Michigan Court of Appeals.
