LA County voters go to the polls to vote in person the day before Election Day at the LA County Registrar-Recorder on June 6, 2022 in Norwalk, California.
Gina Ferazzi | Los Angeles Times | beautiful pictures
A 64-year-old Iowa man was arrested earlier this month for threatening to kill election officials in Maricopa County, Arizona — a key county at the center of the 2020 election and the state’s recount. then where the former President. Donald Trump lost about 10,000 votes.
“When we came to deal with your stupid lying Commie [expletive]you will remember that you lied on [expletive] The Bible, you are the piece of [expletive]. You will die, you are a piece of [expletive]. We will hang you. We will hang you,” the man allegedly said in a voicemail left to Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich on September 27, 2021, according to the Justice Department.
That’s just one example of the growing number of threats of violence that election workers are facing as they approach the November 8 midterms, the Justice Department and law enforcement agencies. Other legislation is preventing an escalation of threats of violence ahead of another key US election that could upset the balance of power in Congress.
“Threats to election workers not only threaten the safety of the individuals involved, but also jeopardize the stability of the electoral process in the United States,” said the Federal Bureau of Investigation. America”. notification in the first day of this month. Department of Homeland Security warned in June that “calls for violence by domestic violence extremists” against election workers, candidates and democratic institutions will intensify as we approach midterms.
An observer watches as contractors working for Cyber Ninjas, who are hired by the Arizona State Senate, check and recount votes from the 2020 general election at the Veterans Memorial Arena on May 8 May 2021 in Phoenix, Arizona.
Courtney Pedroza | Washington Post | beautiful pictures
The DOJ has received more and more reports of threatening voicemails, online messages, and even face-to-face meetings since then. trumpet lost the 2020 election.
Michael McDonald, a professor of political science at the University of Florida, told CNBC: “These threats against election officials continue. “That makes election officials nervous and stressed. And in some cases, they decide to step back from running the election.”
Unprecedented threat
Earlier this month, DOJ Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite Jr., who runs the agency’s crime division, summary Hundreds of election officials and federal government subsidized workers are available under America’s Help Vote Act of 2002 to increase physical security at polling places. The act authorizes an additional $75 million in security for this year — up from $425 million in 2020 — and additional funding from the $1.9 trillion Rescue of Americans Plan also could be used to protect election workers, Polite said.
The precautions stem from the unprecedented threat posed to election officials and workers in the 2020 presidential election – an election that Trump continues to falsely claim was rigged – although many courts, law enforcement and senior GOP officials found no evidence of widespread fraud.
Workers in key 2020 election states, particularly Georgia and Arizona, have been repeatedly targeted by extremists since those states’ races were contested by Trump. win and lose.
Georgia Secretary of State Gabriel Sterling told US lawmakers in June that one of the state’s election officials was threatened with “hanging for treason” after passing an election report to a county computer.
Wandrea “Shaye” Moss, a former Department of Elections employee in Fulton County, Georgia, testifies during the fourth of eight planned public hearings by the U.S. House Select Committee to investigate the assault. public on January 6 at the United States Capitol, on Capitol Hill in Washington, United States on June 21. , year 2022.
Jonathan Ernst | Reuters
Former Georgia Elections Officer Wandrea ArShaye “Shaye” Moss testified also testified about the racist threats and death wishes she received after becoming the focus of a Trump conspiracy theory.
‘Turn my life upside down’
Moss, who was accused by Giuliani of election tampering, said the harassment stemming from those allegations had “turned my life upside down”.
Moss told the committee investigating the January 6 attack on the US: “It affected my life in a big way. Capitol.
The DOJ launched an election threat task force in July 2021 to ensure voters are safe at the polls and to look at the rise in threatening behavior against election workers. like Moss. Over the past year, it has held approximately 40 meetings, presentations, and training sessions with the electoral community, state and local prosecutors, state and local law enforcement, law enforcement agencies, and state and local law enforcement agencies. provides services to support election administration and major social media companies, a DOJ official told CNBC.
Gwinnett County elections officials process ballots as part of a recount for the 2020 presidential election at the Beauty P. Baldwin Voter Registration and Voters Building on November 16, 2020 in Lawrenceville, Georgia.
Megan Varner | beautiful pictures
Review task force more than 1,000 contacts The agency said in August it had been reported as hostile or harassing by election officials. Where they were able to identify the offender, half of them contacted officials on multiple occasions, and about 11 percent of the cases were the result of a federal crime investigation, according to the task force. duty.
End of the election
“Electoral officials in states with close elections and post-election contests are more likely to receive threats,” the DOJ said. More than half of 58% of potential criminal threats are in states that have undergone lawsuits, recounts and audits after the 2020 election, including Arizona, Georgia, Colorado, Michigan, Pennsylvania , Nevada and Wisconsin.
One March report of the Brennan Center for Justice, a nonpartisan policy institute, found that nearly a third of local election officials know of at least one worker who has left their job in part due to safety concerns, the heightened threat or menace. According to the report, 1 in 6 local officials have been threatened and more than half of these have been directly threatened.
“Who’s going to run the election, if reasonable people aren’t willing to do it because they’re under threat?” McDonald said.
Legal analyst and election pollster Richard Bell said federal and state government officials are stepping up their response to ensure election integrity and make those who do. elections feel more secure.
“It will be safe for voters to cast their ballots and safe for election officials to do their job,” Bell said. “This is not 2020 when some people are surprised. We are very aware of the possibilities.”
State of Georgia launches statewide text alert system this month to report violent incident against poll workers. The office of Secretary of State Brad Raffensberger, a Republican who has previously challenged Trump by confirming that the state’s 2020 election results favor Joe Biden, made stuff in the wake of the last presidential election. . Raffensperger said he and his family have been targeted with threats since Trump’s death.
A transcript of a phone call between former US President Donald Trump and Brad Raffensperger, Secretary of State of Georgia, appears on a video screen during Wednesday’s hearing into the January 6 investigation at the Cannon House Office Building on Jan. June 21, 2022 in Washington, DC. .
Chip Somodevilla | beautiful pictures
The Federal Bureau of Investigation sent a Remember board This month warned the public against threatening election workers in Arizona, where workers have received death threats.
In June, Colorado Governor Jared Polis signed a act protect election staff from intimidation, coercion or intimidation before the law.
Free and fair elections
The U.S. Attorney’s Office, the federal criminal prosecution agency in local regions across the country for the DOJ, is also appointing local prosecutors to help oversee election safety in every state as part of the U.S. Attorney’s Office. of the Department of Justice’s regular Election Day Program.
“Every citizen must be able to vote without interference or discrimination and let that vote count in a fair and free election,” U.S. Attorney Dena J. King said in a statement. statement. “Similarly, election officials and staff must be able to serve without the threat of unlawful violence. The Department of Justice will always work tirelessly to protect the integrity of the electoral process. .”
The same day Iowa man arrested for threatening Arizona officials earlier this month, the DOJ said a Nebraska man was sentenced to 18 months in prison for threatening an election official and posting threatening messages on Instagram to President Joe Biden. and another public figure.
“Do you feel safe? You shouldn’t. Do you think Soros will/could protect you?” Prosecutors said the man spoke to election officials, referencing billionaire Democratic donor George Soros. “Your security details are too thin and not enough to protect you. This world is unpredictable today… Anything can happen to anyone.”
