Hundreds of National Guard Security measures from 18 states and Washington, D.C., have been activated or are on standby on the eve of the US presidential election, according to a defense official.

Alabama, Arizona, Delaware, Iowa, Illinois, North Carolina, New Mexico, Wisconsin and Washington states have activated small numbers of National Guard troops under state order, about 126 service members in total, the official told Military.com.

Also on standby are Guardsmen from Colorado, Florida, Hawaii, Nevada, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, West Virginia and Washington DC. Some Guardsmen remain active and ready in Oregon.

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Most of those assigned are “cyber experts” and civilian support teams, he said, adding that there are no specific government orders for military law enforcement, but some are pending.

The 2024 election between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump has been extremely divisive; U.S. intelligence agencies have warned of possible violence and unrest as Americans vote and the votes are counted. These warnings focused in part on threats such as: extremists driven by election fraud conspiracy theories Similar to the one Trump pushed after his loss in 2020.

Neither state nor Pentagon officials have suggested that these activations and holds will continue beyond election week.

Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder, the Pentagon’s chief spokesman, said “600 more Guard members” would be on standby if needed. He also told reporters that activations and holds were routine practice.

“The National Guard has ongoing, long-standing relationships with local, state and federal agency partners and has been assisting with national special security events such as Election Day and Inauguration Day for many years,” Ryder said. he added.

Requests from state governors to keep their Guard prepared ahead of Election Day began last week.

In Washington state, Democratic Gov. Jay Inslee activated his state’s National Guard on Friday “in case they are called upon to support local law enforcement and the Washington State Patrol during election week,” his office detailed in a statement.

Letter from Inslee to the state’s adjutant general The person requesting the Guard’s activation said that on October 28 “an incendiary device was detonated at a mailbox in Vancouver, Washington, damaging or destroying hundreds of ballots” and calling for “the potential for further violence and illegal activity.” He added that it caused

In addition, last week Nevada Republican Governor Joe Lombardo’s office also released a statement saying “a total of 60 members of the National Guard will be activated on standby and assigned to Nevada National Guard facilities in both Carson City and Las Vegas.”

Nevada, in particular, is considered one of the seven states that will change in the 2024 presidential elections.

Oregon’s Democratic Gov. Tina Kotek also told the Oregon Capital Chronicle news outlet that attempts at voter intimidation are “un-American and will not be tolerated,” but that her state’s National Guard is also on standby.

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