<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The D.C. Board of Elections instructed the <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/tag/national-guard/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">National Guard</a> to maintain distance from ballot drop boxes, citing concerns about potential voter interference.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">This request followed a post from a left-leaning account on X, which included a video dated Thursday showing two National Guard members near a ballot drop box. Washington, D.C., opened its ballot drop boxes on Friday, after the video was recorded, indicating that the box was not in use at the time. The account raised concerns that the presence of the guards appeared as if they were guarding the drop box and suggested it could be a federal offense. In response, the D.C. Board of Elections demanded that National Guard personnel avoid ballot boxes.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“We are addressing the concerns with the National Guard directly and have requested that they impose limitations on the placement of National Guard service members near drop boxes and other voting locations in the District,” stated board spokeswoman Sarah Graham, <a href="https://www.washingtonsun.com/metro/national-guard-dc-ballot-boxes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">according to</a> the <em>Washington Sun</em>.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">A spokesperson for the National Guard commented that they were “aware of imagery circulating online” and were “actively addressing this specific instance.”</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The <em>Washington Examiner</em> sought additional comments from the National Guard.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">President Donald Trump initially deployed the National Guard to Washington, D.C., in August 2025 to address crime in the city. The deployment was extended through 2029 in July.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph"><strong><a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/defense/4749971/national-guard-deployment-49-million-dollar-food-cost/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">NATIONAL GUARD DEPLOYMENT TALLIES UP $49 MILLION IN FOOD COSTS ALONE</a></strong></p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The Trump administration has highlighted a decrease in crime in the city during the deployment and noted a safer environment in areas such as Union Station. However, critics have pointed out the high costs, estimated by the Congressional Budget Office at approximately $3 million per day. Opinions on the deployment's optics have varied along partisan lines.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The soldiers have primarily been assigned to visible patrols in high-traffic areas. A <a href="https://www.niskanencenter.org/washington-dc-crime-decline-and-its-lessons-for-american-policing/#introduction" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">study</a> from the nonpartisan Niskanen Center think tank, published over the summer, indicated that National Guard patrols resulted in a “measurable reduction in crime of approximately 24 percent.”</p>