Overview
- A video showing National Guard members standing by a Foggy Bottom ballot drop box prompted complaints and led the D.C. Board of Elections to ask the Guard to limit positioning near drop boxes and other voting sites.
- The board’s request was made on Friday after footage circulated that observers said showed troops next to a sealed drop box that was not yet in active use.
- Reports differ on the Guard’s response: some outlets said the Guard had not publicly explained the placement while another cited a spokesperson saying the force was aware of the imagery and was addressing the instance.
- Federal law generally bars federal military forces from being stationed at election locations except to repel armed enemies, and civil‑liberties groups and some elected officials warned the placement could deter voters.
- About 2,864 Guard members remain deployed in the city, D.C. has 55 drop boxes used by roughly 40% of voters in the June primary, and in‑person early voting begins Oct. 26 with Election Day on Nov. 3, making any perceived threats to ballot access operationally significant.