Election officials prepare for threats with panic buttons, bulletproof glass
3 months, 1 week ago

Election officials prepare for threats with panic buttons, bulletproof glass

Associated Press  

MARIETTA, Ga. — The election director in Cobb County, an Atlanta suburb where votes will be fiercely contested in this year’s presidential race, recently organized a five-hour training session. “We have countless reasons why this investment was critical,” said the county’s election director, Derek Bowens, pointing to threats against election officials in Michigan and Arizona and the suspicious letters sent to offices in Oregon, Washington, California and Georgia. “It’s very volatile, and Luzerne County reflects what is going on across the country” said County Manager Romilda Crocamo, who oversees the election office staff. Many local officials said they have increased the law enforcement presence at election offices, including on election night when poll workers are bringing in ballots and other material from voting locations. “We’ve taken steps to keep them safe.” Election officials say security is a balancing act, ensuring safety while making sure polling places are welcoming spaces for voters and providing enough access to election offices so the public can trust the process.

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History of this topic

FBI investigating hoax bomb threats across the nation as polling sites faced slew of threats on Election Day
1 month, 2 weeks ago

FBI investigating hoax bomb threats across the nation as polling sites faced slew of threats on Election Day

The Independent  

Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Voting …

Bomb threats disrupted what was otherwise relatively smooth voting on Election Day
Trending News
1 month, 2 weeks ago

Bomb threats disrupted what was otherwise relatively smooth voting on Election Day

NPR  

Bomb threats disrupted what was otherwise relatively smooth voting on Election Day toggle caption Samuel Corum/AFP via Getty Images Bomb threats that U.S. officials linked to Russian email domains disrupted what was generally a smooth voting experience across America on Election Day. Intelligence officials had previously said they were “observing foreign adversaries, particularly Russia, conducting additional influence operations intended to …

Election Offices Gear Up for Potential Violence: Increased Security Measures and Training
Trending News
1 month, 2 weeks ago

Election Offices Gear Up for Potential Violence: Increased Security Measures and Training

India Today  

US election offices are implementing various security measures to prepare for potential violence ahead of Election Day. This includes increased threats and harassment of election workers, with many states implementing measures such as fortified facilities with bulletproof glass, installed steel doors, and providing staff with active shooter training and de-escalation techniques.

Bomb-sniffing dogs, metal detectors and snipers: Authorities prepare for election interference, unrest
1 month, 2 weeks ago

Bomb-sniffing dogs, metal detectors and snipers: Authorities prepare for election interference, unrest

LA Times  

Pedestrians walk past metal security barriers on a street leading to the White House in advance of election day in Washington on Monday. Polling places and locations where ballots are counted have beefed up security in advance of Tuesday’s election, deploying bomb- and firearm-sniffing dogs, metal detectors, panic buttons and even rooftop snipers to protect workers and voters. “Part of …

Cop-Turned-Therapist: Helping Election Workers Deal with Threats and Harassment
2 months ago

Cop-Turned-Therapist: Helping Election Workers Deal with Threats and Harassment

CNN  

A group of active-duty and retired cops gather with election officials to plan for harrowing scenarios on Election Day. The sessions, which are held around the country, can trigger intense emotions for current and former election officials, some of whom have experienced harassment or death threats that have taken a toll on their mental health.

DHS Warns Law Enforcement Election Deniers May Attempt to Bomb Drop Boxes
54 years, 11 months ago

DHS Warns Law Enforcement Election Deniers May Attempt to Bomb Drop Boxes

Wired  

United States intelligence officials have been quietly issuing warnings to government agencies all summer about a rising threat of extremist violence tied to the 2024 presidential election, including plots to destroy bins full of paper ballots and promote "lone wolf" attacks against election facilities throughout the country. The documents show that DHS alerted dozens of agencies this summer to online …

Domestic extremists with ‘election-related grievances’ could turn to violence in final weeks of election, FBI and DHS warn
2 months, 3 weeks ago

Domestic extremists with ‘election-related grievances’ could turn to violence in final weeks of election, FBI and DHS warn

CNN  

CNN — The FBI and Department of Homeland Security are concerned that “election-related grievances,” such as a belief in voter fraud, could motivate domestic extremists to engage in violence in the weeks before and after the November election, as it did during the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol, according to a new intelligence bulletin from the agencies. …

More than 20 election offices have been targeted with suspicious packages this week
3 months ago

More than 20 election offices have been targeted with suspicious packages this week

CNN  

CNN — Suspicious packages were sent this week to election offices in more than 20 states, leading to an FBI investigation, triggering evacuations and rattling staff, according to a CNN survey of state offices and Associated Press reporting. Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said Thursday that his office has been notified by the US Postal Service that a suspicious …

The FBI is investigating suspicious packages sent to election officials in more than 15 states
3 months ago

The FBI is investigating suspicious packages sent to election officials in more than 15 states

Associated Press  

— The FBI and the U.S. “Our democracy has no place for political violence, threats or intimidation of any kind.” The Colorado Secretary of State’s Office said a package containing white powder and with the sender listed as “U.S. A state office building in Topeka, Kansas, was evacuated due to suspicious mail sent to both the secretary of state and …

Panic buttons, bulletproof glass: How US election officials are preparing to stay safe during polls
3 months ago

Panic buttons, bulletproof glass: How US election officials are preparing to stay safe during polls

Firstpost  

As election season approaches in the US, authorities are taking extensive measures to ensure both the safety of election workers and the security of the voting and ballot-counting process. AP As election season approaches in the US, authorities are taking extensive measures to ensure both the safety of election workers and the security of the voting and ballot-counting process. “I …

US presidential polls: Suspicious packages sent to election offices in 6 states, FBI joins probe
3 months, 1 week ago

US presidential polls: Suspicious packages sent to election offices in 6 states, FBI joins probe

Firstpost  

The latest scare comes as early voting has begun in several states less than two months ahead of the high-stakes elections for president, Senate, Congress and key statehouse offices around the nation, causing disruption in what is already a tense voting season The Oklahoma State Election Board Office inside the state Capitol in Oklahoma City, was one of at least …

Suspicious packages sent to election officials in at least 6 states
3 months, 1 week ago

Suspicious packages sent to election officials in at least 6 states

Associated Press  

Suspicious packages were sent to election officials in at least six states on Monday, but there were no reports that any of the packages contained hazardous material. Powder-containing packages were sent to secretaries of state and state election offices in Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, Tennessee, Wyoming and Oklahoma, officials in those states confirmed. In Oklahoma, the State Election Board received a …

Georgia officials will give election workers panic buttons to keep them safe amid rising threats
4 months, 1 week ago

Georgia officials will give election workers panic buttons to keep them safe amid rising threats

The Independent  

Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} A …

Election officials beef up security as new survey shows nearly 4 in 10 grapple with threats and harassment
7 months, 3 weeks ago

Election officials beef up security as new survey shows nearly 4 in 10 grapple with threats and harassment

CNN  

CNN — When officials in Durham, North Carolina, open their new $24 million elections operations center later this year, it will include a feature not in the original plan: a separate mail-room exhaust system to guard against dangerous particles spreading through the building. “There was mass concern.” A new survey released Wednesday by the liberal-leaning Brennan Center for Justice at …

Election officials see a range of threats in 2024, from hostile countries to conspiracy theorists
11 months, 3 weeks ago

Election officials see a range of threats in 2024, from hostile countries to conspiracy theorists

LA Times  

For election officials preparing for the 2024 presidential election, the list of security challenges just keeps growing. The company said it was unlikely that Russia, China and Iran would sit out next year’s contest because the “stakes are simply too high.” The report said Russia remains “the most committed and capable threat to the 2024 election,” with the Kremlin seeing …

Election Officials See A Range Of Threats In 2024, From Hostile Countries To Conspiracy Theorists
11 months, 3 weeks ago

Election Officials See A Range Of Threats In 2024, From Hostile Countries To Conspiracy Theorists

Huff Post  

LOADING ERROR LOADING ATLANTA — For election officials preparing for the 2024 presidential election, the list of security challenges just keeps growing. The company said it was unlikely that Russia, China and Iran would sit out next year’s contest because the “stakes are simply too high.” The report said Russia remains “the most committed and capable threat to the 2024 …

Authorities Hunt For Whoever Sent Fentanyl-Laced Letters To Election Offices
1 year, 1 month ago

Authorities Hunt For Whoever Sent Fentanyl-Laced Letters To Election Offices

Huff Post  

LOADING ERROR LOADING WASHINGTON — Authorities were hunting Thursday for whoever sent suspicious letters — including some containing fentanyl — to elections offices in at least five states this week, delaying the counting of ballots in some local races in the latest instance of threats faced by election workers around the country. The Pierce County auditor’s office in Tacoma, Washington, …

Election offices are sent envelopes with fentanyl or other substances. Authorities are investigating
1 year, 1 month ago

Election offices are sent envelopes with fentanyl or other substances. Authorities are investigating

Associated Press  

WASHINGTON — Authorities were hunting Thursday for whoever sent suspicious letters — including some containing fentanyl — to elections offices in at least five states this week, delaying the counting of ballots in some local races in the latest instance of threats faced by election workers around the country. Four county elections offices in Washington state were evacuated Wednesday after …

Election offices in five states receive envelopes with fentanyl or other substances
1 year, 1 month ago

Election offices in five states receive envelopes with fentanyl or other substances

LA Times  

Emergency and law enforcement agencies cordon off the King County elections office in Renton, Wash., on Wednesday. The Pierce County auditor’s office in Tacoma, Wash., released images of the letter it received, showing it had been postmarked in Portland, Ore., and read in part: “End elections now.” In Seattle, King County Elections Director Julie Wise said that letter appeared to …

Column: Election officials are quitting in droves. Here’s why you should care
1 year, 2 months ago

Column: Election officials are quitting in droves. Here’s why you should care

LA Times  

Election workers check ballots at a processing center in Orange County. New research by a political reform group, Issue One, has given us something else to worry about: a troubling exodus of local election officials — those on the front lines fighting for truth, justice and the American way. The latest study suggests it’s now happening — particularly in battleground …

Election workers have gotten death threats and warnings they will be lynched, the US government says
1 year, 3 months ago

Election workers have gotten death threats and warnings they will be lynched, the US government says

Associated Press  

WASHINGTON — More than a dozen people nationally have been charged with threatening election workers by a Justice Department unit trying to stem the tide of violent and graphic threats against people who count and secure the vote. John Keller, the unit’s second in command, said in an interview with The Associated Press that the department hoped its prosecutions would …

EXPLAINER: Threats to US election security grow more complex
2 years, 1 month ago

EXPLAINER: Threats to US election security grow more complex

Associated Press  

BOSTON — Top U.S. election security officials say protecting the nation’s voting systems has become increasingly challenging. With the midterm elections just days away, the director of the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, Jen Easterly, and other officials say they have no evidence that election infrastructure has been altered by hostile actors to prevent voting or vote counting, compromise …

Voting Wars: Unprecedented efforts by pro-Trump Republicans and election officials are targeting the 2022 election
2 years, 2 months ago

Voting Wars: Unprecedented efforts by pro-Trump Republicans and election officials are targeting the 2022 election

Raw Story  

There is little doubt that pro-Trump Republicans are going to challenge voters and contest results that they do not like in 2022’s general election. “We will soon find out if American democracy is robust enough,” concluded the New Yorker’s Sue Halpern, in an October 4 report that detailed how “Republican-led legislatures and right-wing activists alike are making things more difficult …

Falsehoods, harassment stress local election offices in US
2 years, 2 months ago

Falsehoods, harassment stress local election offices in US

Associated Press  

CARROLLTON, Ohio — With early voting less than three weeks away, Nicole Mickley was staring down a daunting to-do list: voting machines to test, poll workers to recruit, an onslaught of public records requests to examine. “I feel like ever since we took office in ’19, it’s just been a constant rollercoaster,” said Mickley, whose 36 months on the job …

Amid threats, security rises at meetings of public officials
2 years, 5 months ago

Amid threats, security rises at meetings of public officials

Associated Press  

MADISON, Wis. — The meeting place? In a statement to The Associated Press, Griswold said she won’t be intimidated by the threats and said a new state law she helped pass increases protections for election workers at all levels. “We cannot allow violent threats to secretaries of state and election workers become an accepted norm in the United States,” she …

Election officials face security challenges before midterms
2 years, 5 months ago

Election officials face security challenges before midterms

Associated Press  

— Election officials preparing for the upcoming midterms face a myriad of threats, both foreign and domestic, as they look to protect voting systems and run a smooth election while fighting a wave of misinformation that has been undermining public confidence in U.S. elections. The nation’s top state election officials gathered Thursday for the start of their annual summer conference, …

Threats testimony rings familiar for election workers
2 years, 6 months ago

Threats testimony rings familiar for election workers

Associated Press  

COLUMBUS, Ohio — This week’s gripping testimony to Congress about threats to local election officials after the 2020 presidential election had a rapt audience far beyond Washington — secretaries of state and election clerks across the U.S who said the stories could easily have been their own. Georgia was a center of threats to election officials as Trump and his …

States seek to protect election workers amid growing threats
2 years, 10 months ago

States seek to protect election workers amid growing threats

Associated Press  

MONTPELIER, Vt. — Lawmakers in a handful of states are seeking greater protections for election officials amid growing concerns for their safety after they were targeted by threats of violence following the 2020 presidential election. A caller to the secretary of state’s office said in 2020 that a firing squad would target “all you cheating,” and “a lot of people …

Officials describe threats following 2020 election
3 years, 1 month ago

Officials describe threats following 2020 election

Associated Press  

PHOENIX — Election officials told a congressional committee Tuesday they’ve received graphic threats to their safety since the 2020 election and warned that pressure on election workers is a threat to democracy. Experienced election administrators are increasingly leaving the field as they face unsupported accusations of manipulating election results, a bipartisan group of state election officials told the Senate Rules …

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