Meet the Youth Leaders Protecting Voters From Intimidation at the Ballot Box in the 2024 Election [Video]

This story was written by Teen Vogue’s 2024 Student Correspondents, a team of college students and recent graduates covering the election cycle from key battleground states.

Some Arizona youth leaders have recruited people to help safeguard voters at the ballot box in the event of any physical or verbal attacks that occur on election day.

Militia movements and armed non-state actors stormed the streets during the 2020 election cycle, eventually consolidating in the January 2021 right-wing riot at the U.S. Capitol. The Armed Conflict Location and Event Data (ACLED) project says far-right extremists resumed public operations in its aftermath and says Arizona boasted most far-right activity of any state that year because of high rates of vigilantism and enlistment.

Abolitionist organization Arizona Democracy Resource Center coordinated election protection training over the past several months to build a paid participatory defense team called the Democracy Defense Front, which does not rely on law enforcement agencies. The organization, which …