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Wisconsin Watch partners with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. Read our methodology to learn how we check claims.

Yes.

Guns are allowed at some polling places in Wisconsin, depending on the voting location, Attorney General Josh Kaul told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. While guns are universally banned at schools — where many polling places in the state are located — there is no statewide law preventing the possession of guns in polling places.

However, private or government buildings may post “no weapons” signs that would apply to polling places on their premises, according to a 2020 memo by Wisconsin Elections Commission Administrator Meagan Wolfe.  

Regardless of where the polling place is, however, no one may brandish a gun or use it to intimidate voters. State law allows election inspectors to call law enforcement to remove anyone who is “disorderly in the presence or hearing of the inspectors” or “interrupts or disturbs the proceedings.”

Sources

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Can people bring guns to the polls? In Wisconsin, it depends where you vote.

State of Wisconsin: Summary memo of Wisconsin weapons/physical security laws and applicability to polling places

Wisconsin State Legislature: Wisconsin Legislature: 7.37(2)

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Jacob Alabab-Moser joined as Wisconsin Watch’s fact checker in September 2022, as part of the effort by The Gigafact Project in partnership with different state-level news outlets to combat misinformation in the 2022 midterm elections. Jacob has several years of experience as a fact checker and research assistant at a variety of organizations, including at The Gigafact Project. He holds a BA from Brown University and is pursuing a MSc from the London School of Economics and Political Science.