Apr.27

electoral-vote.com

Dem 51

   

GOP 49

Many Election Officials in 2024 Will Be New and Inexperienced

The many Republican attacks on election officials are taking a toll. Large numbers of them are afraid of being attacked and harassed for doing what they see as they civic duty and are retiring. In a recent poll of election officials, 30% said they had been personally threatened. Some Republicans have more-or-less openly said that they want to replace poll workers who are just following the law with new poll workers who are more Trump-friendly and who will root out and stop ineligible voters, even though fraudulent voting is exceedingly rare and what there is, is mostly by absentee ballot.

The campaign to scare poll workers seems to be succeeding. Based on a survey of over 10,000 election workers sponsored by the Brennan Center, here are the main takeaways:

• For more than 20% of the workers, 2024 will be their first election.
• Nearly one in three workers has been threatened, harassed, or abused.
• Many election workers worry about partisan pressure to certify the results in favor of a specific party.
• The workers need more resources for election administration and security.
• The federal government needs to do more to safeguard elections and the people who run them.

Even if they are not trying to prevent from suspicious (read: Black or brown) people from voting, inexperienced election workers are going to hurt some legitimate voters directly when problems arise (e.g., someone who legally changed her name recently is trying to vote) they will affect all voters by making procedures run slower and less smoothly. This translates into longer lines and more waiting. (V)