Nearly two-thirds of election officials are worried that politicians will interfere with their work: poll

A new poll conducted by the Brennan Center for Justice and released Wednesday shows that most local election officials are concerned about the safety of their colleagues, with nearly two-thirds, or 62%, saying that politicians have been harassing them or others. It has become clear that the company is concerned about attempts to interfere with the way the company does its work. .

The poll, which HuffPost was granted early access to, was based on responses from 928 local election officials from February 23 to March 28 of this year, and found that they were widely concerned about security and political independence. It was shown that he was holding a The poll found that 62% of officials said they were very or somewhat concerned about “political leaders who try to interfere with the way you and your fellow election officials do your jobs across the country.” 13 percent They feared they would face “pressure to certify election results in favor of a particular candidate or party.”

As HuffPost reported, since 2020, when Donald Trump’s lies about the legitimacy of Joe Biden’s election sparked a violent assault on the U.S. Capitol and multiple attempts to overturn the results, Election offices are taking steps to strengthen election security.

Perhaps most notable, the poll found that election workers face alarming rates of intimidation, harassment, and abuse.

More than one in three respondents said they had been harassed or abused because of their work as local election officials, and 16% said they had been threatened. Of those who have received a threat, 61% say they have received a threat over the phone, and an equal number say they have received a threat in person.

Additionally, 70% feel the level of threat has increased since 2020, with 54% saying they are very or somewhat concerned about the safety of colleagues and staff, and 27% saying they are worried about the safety of their colleagues or staff at home or work. They responded that they were concerned about physical assault. .Four in 10 officials said they were very or somewhat concerned about their personal information being identified or “personal information being published online for the purpose of blackmail.” [their] Defined as “safe” in the poll, 23% were concerned about being subject to “swatting,” or fake emergency calls that send a SWAT team to a victim’s home.

In response to the wave of hatred fueled by Donald Trump’s lies about the 2020 election, many experienced election officials and poll workers are left the field.

27% of election workers say they personally know at least one or two election workers who left their jobs at least in part due to fear for their safety, increased intimidation, or intimidation. That percentage has increased by 50% compared to 2023. poll. The number of people who saw “many” election workers quit their jobs for these reasons doubled from 4% to 8%. These resignations are likely to continue beyond 2024, with 20% of respondents saying they are unlikely to continue in the 2026 midterm elections.

These changes in election officials have resulted in a decline in institutional knowledge. According to polls, 2024 will be the first presidential election for a quarter of election workers. Also, nearly half of election workers told pollsters that they were very or somewhat concerned that new local election officials themselves believed in disproven conspiracies about election fraud.

They have reason to be worried. Most Republicans mistakenly believe that the last presidential election was illegal. Election officials across the country are taking unprecedented steps to secure the election process, including beefing up defenses against threats ranging from mass shootings to attempted hacking of fentanyl-laced mail. .

According to a Brennan Center poll, 92% of local election officials have taken at least some significant steps to strengthen election security since 2020. According to the poll, more than half have implemented cybersecurity measures such as multi-factor authentication and unique logging. Included in device credentials. 44% have updated their polling place contingency plans and 40% have increased physical security at election offices or polling places.

The Brennan Center created the poll by emailing an invitation to participate in the survey to a list of 11,678 local election officials created with support from the American Vote Foundation. The poll has a 3.1% margin of error and data is weighted by region and jurisdiction size.