Media Tip Sheets

Activating National Guard Troops for 2024 Election

Tuesday, November 5, 2024, By Ellen Mbuqe
Govenors in several states have called up National Guard troops in response to threats of violence on Election Day.
Reporters looking for an expert on this issue, please see comments from Professor Emeritus William Banks. He is the author of “Soldiers on the Home Front. The Domestic Role of the American Military” and the founding director of the Institute for Security Policy and Law.
  • “The precautionary measures by governors – activating or placing on alert members of their state National Guard – are reasonable in the same way that similar callups would precede a major storm that threatens a state. The governors would order the Guard personnel to quell any violent disturbances, but not to interfere in any way with voting or counting. In some circumstances monitoring that line up to election interference can be challenging, but that’s the task presented,” said Banks.
Earlier this year, Professor Banks wrote the article “Expert Backgrounder: Federalizing the National Guard and Domestic Use of the Military for Just Security which offers insight into the lawful role of the U.S. military on domestic soil.
Please contact Ellen James Mbuqe, executive director of media relations, at ejmbuqe@syr.edu to schedule an interview