Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Top Stories

Bipartisan group asks DOJ to further protect election workers

Bipartisan group asks DOJ to further protect election workers

A line of people voting at voting machines in a polling place with their backs facing the camera.

After an increase in threats to election workers during and following the 2020 election, a bipartisan group is calling on the Department of Justice to bolster and reinforce protections for the people who maintain the integrity of U.S. elections.

The Alliance for Securing Democracy and the Bipartisan Policy Center released a report last week with recommendations for improving the DOJ’s Election Threat Task Force. The report focused on reimagining federal laws and enhancing the DOJ’s guidance for law enforcement and local and state governments.


Threats against poll workers had been exacerbated by false, widespread claims of election fraud in the 2020 election. Two years later, as the country holds primaries and caucuses for the midterm elections, the danger of those threats has not waned.

In June, the DOJ released a report warning that calls for violence against poll workers is likely to increase as elections continue, designating that violence as part of their summary of terrorist threats to the country.

However, there is worry the Justice Department has not done enough to address the problem. That is leading to a number of issues - including the loss of experienced election officials who are leaving the field.

David Levine, a co-author of the report and the elections integrity fellow for the Alliance for Securing Democracy, said it’s critical to make sure the people on which American democracy rests feel safe and remain in their roles.

“What we want is the DOJ then to be able to provide guidance to others involved in these efforts… we want them to be aware of what other tools exist to help make election workers feel safe,” Levine said.

The main call to action of the report was for the DOJ to release guidance for local law enforcement, the FBI’s field offices and all others on the “front lines” of elections to show how federal laws can deter and hold accountable those threatening election officials.

The report states that such guidance would serve three purposes:

  • show that the issue of threats to election workers remains a priority;
  • ideate around safety mechanisms for poll workers, and;
  • help explain when a threat can be prosecuted.

Even if a threat to an election official isn’t criminally prosecutable, there are still measures to take to ensure the safety of election workers. The DOJ’s Election Threat Task Force could be a resource for issuing guidelines for how legislatures can go about holding individuals civilly accountable for threats toward or intimidation of election workers, the report said.

Levine thinks the report offers a way for the DOJ to more effectively achieve the purpose of its task force and protect election security.

“People don’t perceive the folks that run our elections to be our stewards of democracy,” Levine said. “They see them as obstacles to their own political ends, and that’s just a really dangerous place to be.”

Read More

U.S. Constitution
Imagining constitutions
Douglas Sacha/Getty Images

A Bold Civic Renaissance for America’s 250th

Every September 17, Americans mark Constitution Day—the anniversary of the signing of our nation’s foundational charter in 1787. The day is often commemorated with classroom lessons and speaking events, but it is more than a ceremonial anniversary. It is an invitation to ask: What does it mean to live under a constitution that was designed as a charge for each generation to study, debate, and uphold its principles? This year, as we look toward the semiquincentennial of our nation in 2026, the question feels especially urgent.

The decade between 1776 and 1787 was defined by a period of bold and intentional nation and national identity building. In that time, the United States declared independence, crafted its first national government, won a war to make their independence a reality, threw out the first government when it failed, and forged a new federal government to lead the nation. We stand at a similar inflection point. The coming decade, from the nation’s semiquincentennial in 2026 to the Constitution’s in 2037, offers a parallel opportunity to reimagine and reinvigorate our American civic culture. Amid the challenges we face today, there’s an opportunity to study, reflect, and prepare to write the next chapters in our American story—it is as much about the past 250 years, as it is about the next 250 years. It will require the same kind of audacious commitment to building for the future that was present at the nation’s outset.

Keep ReadingShow less