This story was originally published by The 19th.

A growing number of states are considering restrictions on guns near voting sites, a move that some lawmakers and voting rights groups hope will better protect not just voters, but election administrators and poll workers, from threats of violence and intimidation during a fraught election year.

Only about a dozen states and Washington, D.C., completely prohibit people from carrying a gun — either openly or concealed — at a polling place. The bulk have passed their measures since the 2020 election, when an election denialism movement led by former President Donald Trump and his supporters at times sparked violence. Few laws explicitly address carrying guns at ballot drop box sites or election offices. A handful more prohibit open carry at voting sites, though concealed carry may be allowed.

At least a half-dozen states have introduced legislation this year that would either clearly ban firearms at polling locations or expand existing restrictions. In two, new laws have been sent to the governor – with different results.

Last month, New Mexico’s Democratic governor signed the latest of such measures into law, a bill that makes it illegal to openly carry a gun within 100 feet of a polling location and 50 feet of a drop box.

“Guns and voting don’t mix. People should be able to go to the polls and cast their ballots free of intimidation or worry about the presence of firearms, or even worse, potential violence,” Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham told The 19th, stressing that she thought that voters in her state deserved the “right to be free from violence or intimidation at the polls.”

Weeks later, Virginia’s Republican governor vetoed a similar bill in his state.

There is a long and racist history of political violence at the ballot box, but it has been exceedingly rare in recent election cycles. Nevertheless, polling from the Global Project Against Hate and Extremism found that 40 percent of American voters say they are fearful for their safety at polling places, particularly of a shooting on Election Day. An uptick since the 2020 election in harassment and threats of violence against a women-majority election workforce, coupled with high-profile instances of voter intimidation in the 2022 midterms — while an election denialism movement gains traction — has some policymakers looking to address mounting concerns.

“By and large, our elections have been peaceful. These laws are........

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