Work for tx.gov and we're allowed to carry at work.  We started working in a new building and I was walking in the other day and discovered the lobby of the new building was used as a polling place.  Polling places are places carry is prohibited in TX.  Kinda fucked up to say "sorry, I know you can normally carry here but today you have to go back to your car and leave your gun. Right in the middle of the lobby too so no chance to stay in a completely separate part of the building. I was OC'ing so I turned around when I saw the vote signs and went back to the car.  Seems like there would be an exception but nothing I could find in TX law...

If it was concealed, how would anyone know?

in your case, why didn't you conceal it?

Learned something new today.

I didn't imagine the State would allow Employees to Open Carry on their jobs.   WOW!!!

With Respect, how often does the Building become a Polling Place in the course of a year?

Once? Maybe Twice if there is a Primary and Three times if there is a Run Off.  

At least the place has LOTS of people in to keep a WATCH on BALLOT & VOTERS (even if you aren't armed).

Pretty sure LEO in course of normal business are exempt from that requirement and if you are a "regular" non-LEO State Employee who can open carry ...  WOW!!

BIGGER_HAMMER

Not going to state here what I did when I went back to the car .

This was in Austin so not sure how often it gets used for a polling place.  It's a new bldg for me and the whole agency was working from home until recently.

I'm a former LEO (not Austin) and when I was in uniform we received an opinion from the local DA that if we went into the polls to vote, uniform or plainclothes, we could not carry.  

So in MI, carrying in schools is verboten, and schools are usually polling places. However, due to ridiculous MI laws, you can in a way.

So MI is open carry. But you can’t in schools. Unless you have a CPL. But, then you can’t concealed carry but you can OC. Stupid, right?  So I’m concealed 99% of the time, but have to OC in schools.

If you were prior LEO with 10+ years service you should have a QRLEO ID..   Yea I know F.... TCOLE and the horse they rode in on.... I've heard the BS line well you didn't retire from OUR department so we wont issue it.   Title 18 U.S.Code 926C should be exactly what it was intended to be - Anti Terrorism.  It's time for you to talk to  your state legislators and explain to them that all hat no cattle Kim at TCOLE has misled agencies into not following the federal law and that State Law need to say exactly what the Federal law has said since 2010 and 2013 updates on LEOSA.  Any QRLEO eligible officer based on Federal guidelines 10 yrs service or disabled after finishing probation is entitled to the dam ID not just the chiefs drinking buddies and the few who spent 20+ years and retired from their agency.  It is an aggregate (any combination of agencies) of total 10 or more years.  Texas only recently came out of the dark ages with Texas law changed from 15 yrs to 10 years but Fed changed that in 2010.  State Legislators need to fix the problem and they wont do that unless you make them aware that there is a problem with how TCOLE is instructing Texas Agencies to proceed regarding QRLEO ID.  It's Kim's own personal power trip to advise agencies to deny the ID request because there is no recourse listed in the law if it's denied.

@Urimaginaryfrnd ,  I ran into this exact issue. I am between 10 and 15 years honorable sworn service since I went into public administration, and Texas LEO protection act didn't originally recognize unless you had 15, preventing me from getting the cred for federal eligibility.  TCOLE issued my retired LE buddy from out of state a LEOSA card but will not issue creds to TX guys whose depts refuse to issue. It's a clusterfuck. So of course LEOSA just allows you the same rights as a concealed carry licensee in the state you are in so LEOSA doesn't give me any special standing at my workplace.  My last sworn agency (state alphabet agency) just recently developed LEOSA issuance and I'm waiting for the agency head to formalize it.  Have CHL.  Interestingly TCOLE said my first agency's F5 was lost in a data conversion years ago and the agency can't locate my cert or HR records (Houston) though I'm looking at my framed badge which I was allowed to keep with an honorable separation and a picture of me receiving a Chief's commendation from former former Chief and Appellate Court Judge Sam Nucia, so it's ridiculous incompetence by the city. Luckily my last agency is moving forward with LEOSA so i'll be covered for out of state travel but it's been waiting on agency head signature for months. You'd be surprised (or not) how many Abbott appointees are leftists and anti-carry, anti-police.  This one tried to cancel replacement gun and vest orders (vest were beyond manufacturers replacement date and issue guns were well beyond their sell by date), and asked the chief admin why they needed ammo .  From what I can tell, about 6-7 months ago, Gov. Abbott told these smaller (fewer sworn LE than DPS or Beer cops) agencies to get off their asses and issue the damn creds.  If TX goes blue I don't want to be relying on constitutional carry or CHL, though I could see the left going after state LEOSA too eventually.

as a general rule, when it comes to government buildings and locations, i'm not risking it. too many ways for it to be detected especially now they're using remote scanners that can detect concealed carried items. plus the penalty is much harsher too.

I feel your pain on this.  All I can say is talk to your legislators and make them aware that it really would be far better for public safety if state law clearly states that LEO and QRLEO are allowed to carry firearms in any location open to the public specifically including Gun Free School Zones, voting locations, stores that sell alcohol, and stores with No Carry signs that are open to the public.  These places are the ones where active shooters are most likely to strike and because the average CCW permit holder is not allowed to carry in those locations it is critically important that the Police be allowed to for the protection of the public.   Texas law needs to clearly state who is QRLEO eligible, based on 2010 LEOSA Sec 12   1. armed as a condition of employment 2 Trained as law enforcement 3. Authority to Arrest or to Detain under the UCMJ.  The state law needs to read:  SHALL ISSUE OR SHOW CAUSE.  It's wrong to tell someone with 10+ years honorable service .... sorry you did not retire here so no ID.  And TCOLE needs to come to grips with the fact that Texas CCP 2.122 is what it says it is a list of Special Investigators and it is not a list of every QRLEO eligible Federal Law Enforcement Agency.  Democrats really do hate the Police and Republican Legislators for the most part ignore us.  Go up and talk to your legislators and tell other LEO's to do that so that they realize where the problems are in the system.  Good Luck

@Czechers