DEMAND 7
TOWARDS ELECTION INTEGRITY
Sheriffs Should Act to Protect Election Officials and Voters from Threaths and Violence that Undemine the Right to Vote
The Issue
Threats against election workers—the people who ensure that we can exercise our right to vote—have grown exponentially over the past few years. In the days and weeks following the 2020 election, election officials and poll workers were subjected to an onslaught of harassment and threats. According to a 2022 Brennan Center for Justice survey, 1 in 6 local election officials have experienced threats; more than half were never reported to law enforcement. In addition to local election workers, political extremists have targeted individuals associated with voting machine manufacturers, and state and local elected officials charged with auditing and certifying election results.
Why It Matters
Free and fair elections depend on the people who are willing to make them happen. But fewer people are choosing to enter or stay in those roles because of the ongoing concerted attacks on voters and election officials. Without efforts to support and protect election workers, we’ll lose more and more of the people who make sure we can exercise our right to vote.
What’s Possible
Sheriffs play a critical role in responding to threats of violence and attacks on public servants.
Despite efforts by some sheriffs to cast doubt on the integrity of elections or use their offices to intimidate and undermine the right to vote, law enforcement presence can be critical to ensuring safety for elections staff and polling sites. On the other hand, a law enforcement presence at the polls may also intimidate people or discourage them from voting. Law enforcement should be mindful of the impact their presence may have on voting and weigh that against the need for such action. Relatedly, sheriffs should be aware of the federal, state, and local laws that govern their physical presence at ballot boxes and polling places before and on Election Day.
By working closely with election officials, sheriffs can develop an effective plan and policy for responding to election-related violence, threats, and harassment.
How We Get There
Sheriffs should work collaboratively with local officials to ensure that voters can not just safely exercise their right to vote, but that they feel safe and confident in doing so.
Deter: The sheriff should work with county and state election officials to raise public awareness around what kind of actions constitute crimes (like intimidation and inciting violence) and set expectations for how the office will respond to these crimes in order to protect the right to vote in the county.
Sheriffs should be mindful that there are increasing numbers of partisan vigilante poll workers, dropbox watchers, “election police,” and self-appointed “election monitors,” that may necessitate further discussions on what activities are constitutionally protected, legally permissible, and designed to promote accountability and transparency, and which activities instead cross the line into intimidation.
Deescalate: Since 2020, election-related confrontations have increased as more people are showing up to polls not just to vote, but to observe the voting process. When election workers cannot temper these confrontations, sheriffs should be prepared to assist in deescalating the conflict. But, sheriffs should remain cognizant of the way their presence will be perceived by communities historically subjected to law enforcement intimidation when exercising the right to vote. Sheriffs should consider the way the presence of law enforcement might unintentionally intimidate voters and which actions (e.g., public statements, patrolling, overt investigating) under the circumstances are best designed to reduce ongoing tensions and the risk of violence.
Defend: According to the Brennan Center survey, among those election workers who did report the threats they received, 89 percent reported to local law enforcement. But according to that research, those reports are rarely investigated, and those who threaten the lives of election workers are not often prosecuted at the local or federal level.
Sheriffs can help address the fear of election workers by taking their safety concerns seriously. Sheriffs should meet with election workers ahead of time to let them know that they will take concerns seriously, and then follow through by investigating credible threats of violence and reports of stalking and intimidating surveillance by citizens. They should also be prepared to lend security protection to election officials and volunteers in the weeks leading up to and after an election.
Examples
The Committee for Safe and Secure Election has a variety of resources to help law enforcement and local election officials and administrators work together to protect the right to vote. Five Steps to Safer Elections - The Committee for Safe and Secure Elections
In 2022, the Maricopa County Sheriff Paul Penzone spoke out against voter intimidation attempts and directed resources to monitoring ballot boxes after it was reported people were recording ballot drop-offs and two men in tactical gear were parked nearby. Maricopa County sheriff says it’s ‘absurd’ voters can’t drop off ballots without being harassed
Partner Highlights
Resources
Organizations Leading the Way
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