38 percent of local election officials report threats, harassment or abuse: Poll

Nearly 4 in 10 local election officials experienced threats, harassment or abuse while on the job, according to a new poll.

In the survey, published Wednesday by the Brennan Center for Justice, 38 percent of local election workers reported “threats, harassment or abuse,” while 54 percent said they were concerned about the safety of their colleagues.

About 62 percent said they were worried about political leaders attempting to interfere with how election officials do their jobs, while 28 percent said they were concerned of their family or loved ones being threatened or harassed.

Additionally, 13 percent said they were “concerned about facing pressure to certify results in favor of a specific candidate or party.”

The survey follows a series of recent findings indicating local election workers are increasingly fearful for their safety as the November election approaches.

Threats and scrutiny often tied with false claims of voter fraud have contributed to a high turnover rate among local election officials. Experts have warned the exodus will leave understaffed and inexperienced teams to face conspiracies and disconfirmation around the 2024 election process.

Election conspiracy theories that the 2020 election was “rigged” persist within the GOP and have been repeated by former President Trump and other mainstream politicians.

The Department of Justice’s Election Threats Task Force announced in March it is looking into dozens of threats against election workers. The task force, formed in 2021 to respond to threats related to 2020 election denialism, has already resulted in 20 prosecutions.

The Brennan Center survey was conducted Feb. 23 to March 28 and received 928 responses from local election officials. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.