Across the country, Trump and his allies are undermining state and local election authorities just as voters are preparing for early voting in the midterms – intimidating voters, threatening violence against election officials, and tampering with voting machines. They are creating a dangerous and unworkable environment for administrators working tirelessly to ensure our midterm elections are free and fair; by targeting our ability to vote directly, election deniers threaten all our most fundamental rights. Trump Republicans have shown that they will stop at nothing to ensure they have the final say who wins in 2022 – and beyond.
Reuters: Pro-Trump Conspiracy Theorists Hound Election Officials Out Of Office. “…part of a wave of efforts by pro-Trump activists to gain control of voting administration by replacing county government leaders with election conspiracy theorists. Some are spending big money. […] The goal: to profoundly change how U.S. elections are run. Right-wing activists want to eliminate voting machines and return to hand-counting of paper ballots, which experts say would make elections more prone to fraud, not less. Trump allies have also targeted the ballot drop boxes and mail-in voting that Democrats embraced in the 2020 election. […] Officials who resist baseless stolen-election claims have faced accusations of treason or other crimes. Reuters identified 44 counties in 15 states where local officials have faced efforts to change rules on voting since the 2020 election. All of them were led by Trump loyalists or Republican Party activists driven by false voter-fraud theories.” [Reuters, 10/19/22]
FiveThirtyEight: It’s Hard To Run Elections These Days. Just Ask Nevada’s Election Officials. “Once occupying a low-profile, largely bureaucratic position, county clerks are increasingly the target of intense public vitriol. Typically the chief election official for their communities, county clerks and other local election workers have faced harassment from voters convinced the 2020 election was fraudulent, thanks to former President Donald Trump’s baseless claims of a stolen election. As a result, some election officials are leaving their posts — and in some places, election deniers are signing up to replace them.” [FiveThirtyEight, 10/19/22]
The Washington Post: In Arizona, Alleged Voter Intimidation At Drop Boxes Worries Officials. “With early voting underway in Arizona, a swing state and epicenter of election distrust and denialism, public officials are worried that menacing bands of activist observers hunting for fraud will harass and intimidate voters. Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs (D), who oversees elections here, referred to federal and state authorities a report of intimidation after a voter complained he or she was approached and followed by a group of people after attempting to drop off a ballot at a drop box Monday. The referral was announced Wednesday night.” [The Washington Post, 10/20/22]
New York Magazine: Cleta Mitchell Is Training Thousands of Trump Loyalists to Monitor the Polls on Election Day. “January 6, 2021, was an unfathomable day in many respects, its perpetrators preying upon a fault line in our democracy that few knew existed but that also used the privileges of a democracy — the freedom of speech, the freedom to assemble — to nearly tear democracy down. And there are people who blame Cleta Mitchell for it. ‘Cleta Mitchell is the connective tissue that runs from the beginning of Trump’s efforts to criminally overturn the 2020 election results, through the setting up the terrible events of early January 2021 and continuing her election denial and constitutional-assault playbook through the present day,’ said Norm Eisen, who served as counsel for the House Judiciary Committee in the first Trump impeachment. […] And there are now thousands and thousands of people who believe this too and who are showing up at polling sites on Election Day in a few weeks. They are there to work.” [New York Magazine, 10/20/22]
WRAL: Election Directors Concerned About Potential Disruptions At Polls. “State election officials have issued a 12-page memo outlining the rules for partisan poll observers inside voting places. The expanded rules came at the request of local election officials who reported problematic behavior by observers during the May primary. Poll observers are part of North Carolina’s voting laws. Each county political party appoints its observers in advance and submits their names to the county board of elections. They’re also responsible for training the observers in election laws. […] But this year, some wanted to assist election workers with securing ballots and voting machines. ‘I can’t say that that didn’t come from a well intentioned person. But it’s very alarming when somebody offers to follow you back to the board of elections.’ […] Some conservative groups have been recruiting election deniers to work as poll observers this fall…He said he’s concerned they could be aiming to disrupt or intimidate voters.” [WRAL News, 10/20/22]
New York Times: Ron Johnson Website and Video Urge Reporting of Suspected Election Problems. “Senator Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, who has amplified unfounded claims of voter fraud for years, launched a website and a video on Wednesday encouraging people to report suspected ‘election integrity’ problems and instructing poll workers in how to spot and report ‘disqualifying issues’ with absentee ballots… [T]he senator and his campaign seemed eager to put his supporters on alert for suspicious voting activity. […] The website that was launched by the Johnson campaign provides voters with a form to report incidents involving ‘election integrity’ and to submit any files or images of such incidents.” [New York Times, 10/19/22]
Axios: FBI Identifies Arizona As One Of Top States For Threats Against Election Workers. “The DOJ and FBI have identified Arizona as one of the top states for threats to election officials and poll workers. Why it matters: Widespread misinformation about election fraud has already resulted in several serious threats in Arizona and danger could increase now that early voting is underway.” [Axios Phoenix, 10/19/22]
Axios: Election Workers In Battleground States More Likely To Receive Threats. “The FBI says battleground states that are likely to see calls for election audits and recounts — like Georgia — are more likely to see threats and harassment directed at election workers during the midterms. What’s happening: As early voting begins and Election Day draws near, counties are on guard to avoid a repeat of the 2020 election. Catch up quick: After voting officials from the county level on up to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger reported threats and harassment from conspiracy theorists and election deniers who alleged the election was stolen.” [Axios, 10/18/22]
New York Times: Right-Wing Leaders Mobilize Corps of Election Activists. “The episode is one of many that have election officials on alert as voting begins for midterm elections, the biggest test of the American election system since Mr. Trump’s lies about the 2020 results launched an assault on the democratic process. In the two years since, groups of right-wing activists have banded together, spreading false claims of widespread election fraud and misconduct. Now those activists are inserting themselves in the vote count, with a broad and aggressive effort to monitor voting in search of evidence that confirms their theories. Many activists have been mobilized by some of the same people who tried to overturn Mr. Trump’s defeat in 2020. Their tactics in primary elections have officials braced for a range of new challenges, including disruptive poll watchers and workers, aggressive litigation strategies, voter and ballot challenges and vigilante searches for fraud.” [New York Times, 10/17/22]
The Daily Beast: MAGA Duo Who Smeared Election Worker Now Holding Training Courses for ‘Poll Watchers’. “Elections officials are bracing for a wave of aggressive poll observers, including some notorious veterans from the 2020 election. Pennsylvania elections worker James Savage…alleged in a lawsuit last year: It was alleged harassment from conspiracy-peddling “poll watchers” [that gave him a heart attack]. Two years later, two of the Republican poll watchers named in Savage’s lawsuit are holding “advanced poll watcher training” courses in Savage’s home county. They’re among a nationwide movement of right-wing figures mobilizing to sow doubt around the midterm elections. Experts fear the campaign could put election workers like Savage in the crosshairs. Poll watching at voting sites is legal and common. Volunteers, sometimes working on behalf of political parties, observe election proceedings and file complaints when they suspect violations of rules. But after Donald Trump’s refusal to accept his 2020 election loss, the poll-watch system—which is meant to cultivate trust in elections—has become a hub for conspiracy theorists, with fringe figures terrorizing public servants.” [The Daily Beast, 10/17/22]
