In the polling center of Indy, the rhetoric is almost seething; leaders must turn down the heat

Security at polling stations has become a problem for poll workers. (Photo by Mark Wallheiser/Getty Images)

Some things just don’t add up. Oil and water, peas and plaid, ketchup and pancakes. Here’s another couple who aren’t compatible, but unfortunately on Election Day this year, we saw them fight at a polling place in Indianapolis.

Guns and voting. Last month, poll workers and voters at one site in Indianapolis came face-to-face with just how incompatible these things are.

I will not publicly name the location of this incident because one incident with a gun is enough for those who have been intimidated and fear retribution. But this is a church, and they put up signs, according to the law, prohibiting guns on their property.

This polling place had been busy all morning and voters were lining up when things changed. The voter appeared in clothes that advertised one particular candidate. According to Indiana law, poll workers asked the voter to remove his hat and turn his shirt inside out.

The voter removed his hat and shirt, revealing two firearms and a knife in his belt, and began to complain loudly and obscenely about being required to comply with a law prohibiting canvassing at a polling station. When he was pointed to a sign on the door with the church’s no-weapons policy, his behavior became even more threatening.

Fortunately, the other precincts did everything right. Instead of arguing with him, they de-escalated the situation and got him out as quickly as possible. It was certainly a relief to the people who witnessed the scene, some of whom fled to the church kitchen during the tense moments that ensued.

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But the damage was done. Word of the situation quickly spread through social media in the neighborhood, and the long line of voters became a trickle. It remains to be seen if this person will be charged with intimidating a poll worker, a law that was just passed in 2024 and is obviously needed.

While I’m not going to blame Marion County’s low turnout solely on people fearing violence at the polls, voters are increasingly citing it as a concern. According to A Reuters poll43% of US voters are concerned about threats of intimidation or violence while voting in person.

Since the election is over, it is time for our elected officials to restore confidence in the election and appease voters that their polling stations are protected from intimidation with weapons or other violence.

It’s bad enough that current Indiana law allows guns to be carried anywhere, even at the polls. The situation is made worse when elected officials and some candidates demonize the other side and use exaggerated rhetoric to make baseless claims of election fraud.

Instead of seeing Election Day as a celebration of democracy and majority rule, too many Hoosiers seem eager to cast a hostile and suspicious eye on anyone who might make a different choice at the ballot box. They do this because certain candidates and elected officials have set an example for them to follow.

It’s time for elected officials to turn down the thermostat and stop using election laws to score political points. It’s time to set an example and stop oppressing conspiracies against your Hoosier neighbors.

Earlier this year, Secretary of State Diego Morales called on local election officials to “report election interference.” I urge all elected officials in Indiana to abandon their dog whistle election security messages and instead work to ensure that all Goose citizens can vote in person without fear of intimidation or violence. It would start with banning guns at the polls in Indiana.

Indiana has no problem with disenfranchised voters; our challenge is to get eligible voters to participate. Banning guns at Indiana polls will reassure voters that our elections are safe, secure and accessible for all.

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