Lansing — Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed on Tuesday a set of bills that prohibit people from openly carrying firearms at polling places in Michigan.
“Together, we are creating a safe environment for voters to make their voices heard,” Whitmer, a Democrat, said in a statement that announced her approval of the measures.
The bills, sponsored by Rep. Penelope Tsernoglou, D-East Lansing, and Rep. Stephanie Young, D-Detroit, say guns cannot be possessed inside a polling place on Election Day, within 100 feet of any entrance to a building where a polling place is located and active, or within 100 feet of a ballot drop box for 40 days before an election.
However, there are exceptions to the prohibition, including for those carrying a concealed pistol if they have a license to do so and for those lawfully transporting a firearm in a vehicle.
The bills more broadly ban guns from places where absentee ballots are being processed.
“Voters, election workers and officials should never feel threatened or intimidated at the polls,” Young said. “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.”
Michigan is the 20th state to ban open carry at the polls and the eighth state to expressly ban all guns at vote-counting sites, according to the nonprofit Brennan Center for Justice at New York University.
The National Rifle Association has opposed the bills.
“Law-abiding gun owners should not face criminal penalties for simply crossing arbitrary lines with no intent to disrupt or interfere with the voting process,” the association said in a statement in February.
In 2020, Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson issued a directive to ban the open carry of guns near polling locations on Election Day. However, the courts later blocked her edict, saying it smacked “of an attempt at legislation.”
The new bills passed the House and Senate in party-line votes with Democrats in support and Republicans in opposition.
cmauger@detrotinews.com