Updated at 12:10 p.m. on Aug. 30 with comment from the Texas Republican Party.

AUSTIN — Election workers who run polling places now have the state's blessing to carry guns there.

In an opinion released Tuesday, Attorney General Ken Paxton said so-called election judges who are licensed to carry a firearm can do so during the performance of their official duties. The opinion was issued after a Republican lawmaker raised concerns about the safety of these poll workers in rural areas.

"Due to the latest events, the public has a heightened awareness of the security posture in public spaces," Rep. James White, R-Hillister, wrote to Paxton in March. "These election judges are evaluating the security posture and they are discovering that their polling places are in remote locations."

Democrats and Republicans were split on the issue, with the former saying allowing any guns at polling places amounted to a voter intimidation tactic and the latter lauding Paxton's opinion as good for public safety.

Firearms are usually banned at polling places.

This rule, however, does not apply to some people, like police and correctional officers. According to Paxton's opinion, it also doesn't apply to election judges with gun licenses "when performing their duties" because these poll workers fall into an exemption for "active judicial officers." Attorney general opinions don't carry the force of law, but they can be used as a supporting argument in court.

Election judges are required by law to "preserve order" and "prevent breaches of the peace" at his or her polling place. This could mean intervening in a fight or calling law enforcement for help. They lead the staff there and even set up and break down the polling place.

But this person is not a judge in the familiar sense of the word, in that they aren't legal scholars elected by the voters. Rather, election judges are everyday Texans appointed by the county commissioners to serve two-year terms. The political party that received the most votes in each precinct during the last election for governor can nominate people for consideration. The opposite political party nominates an alternate.

For example, Dallas County has 797 voting precincts and hundreds of election judges for early and regular voting. The county commissioners will vote on election judges nominated by their parties in September, the county elections office said Tuesday.

Election judges are not supposed to try to sway or disenfranchise voters. But these rules haven't always kept personal views out of the process. In June 2017, for example, a local election judge chosen by the Democrats was allowed to stay in her post even after she told voters the Republican candidate for a Dallas school board seat did not support public education.

On Thursday, Texas Republican Party Chairman James Dickey applauded the opinion as "an important step in the right direction to keep our polling locations safe on election day.

"Areas in which government prohibits law-abiding citizens from carrying firearms become unsafe zones for Texans," Dickey said in a statement. "General Paxton's opinion helps keep election judges safe on election day by clarifying that they have the option of self protection if they are licensed to carry and choose to do so."

But the state Democratic Party had other thoughts. They blasted the opinion on Tuesday as "a dangerous voter intimidation tactic."

"Even in the heated politics of today, the Texas Legislature made it clear that polling locations shouldn't be the O.K. Corral," executive director Manny Garcia said in a written statement. "Donald Trump has encouraged his supporters to attack Democrats and the media. Gun violence is a national epidemic. And Republicans are trying everything in the book to make it harder for people to vote."

Bruce Sherbet, the elections administrator in Collin County, said the Texas secretary of state will likely have to issue new guidance to county offices to make sure they know some polling workers may be packing. But he said he doesn't have an opinion on whether they should or not.

"We're always conscious — no matter what — that everyone is safe," Sherbert said Tuesday. "We'll follow whatever we're directed by the secretary of state."

The Dallas County elections administrator is out of the office this week and did not reply to requests for comment.

Paxton's opinion added that election judges could not carry their firearms at polling places in government buildings or schools where guns are strictly forbidden. In Texas, it's legal to openly carry a rifle or other long arm almost anywhere without a permit or license. Toting a handgun openly or concealed requires the gun owner to have a license to carry, or LTC.

For the vast majority of Texans, weapons of all kinds are strictly banned not just in polling places but also inside grade school campuses, courthouses, racetracks, airports and prisons. Gun owners can tote their weapons to church if they're licensed and if the house of worship allows it.

CORRECTION, 2:15 p.m., Aug. 29, 2018: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated the number of voting precincts in Dallas County and failed to properly explain the authority of election judges.