Local election workers fear threats to their safety as November nears. One group is trying to help

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. — The group gathered in the conference room, mostly women, fell silent as the audio recording began to play.

The male voice, clearly agitated, denounced what he said was fraud that cost former President Donald Trump re-election four years ago.

“You’re going to pay for it,” the man said, filling his message with expletives and suggesting his target’s throat be slit with a knife. “We’ll… take you with us. Your family, your life.

“Watch out.”

The call was made to one of them, a city clerk who had overseen the 2020 election in suburban Detroit. The former clerk, Tina Barton, played the recording of the phone call she received to an audience that included several dozen local election clerks and law enforcement officials who had recently gathered in a conference room in an office building in northern Michigan.

“I want you to understand that this voicemail is the same kind we’re seeing across the country, and it can go anywhere: small community, large community, Michigan, Arizona. It can find you,” said Barton, who oversaw elections in Rochester Hills, when she received the voicemail a week after the 2020 presidential election.

The recent rally in Traverse City, a picturesque community on the shores of Lake Michigan in a county that has voted for Trump twice, was part of a national effort to train local election workers on how to respond to threats and how to can cooperate with law enforcement agencies. counter.

As the country heads into another highly charged presidential election, the threats against election offices, which have been an alarming consequence of Trump’s false claims about his 2020 loss, threaten as a dangerous wild card for the thousands of local government workers who oversee will hold on to the United States’ vital infrastructure. the country’s democracy. The continued threats and intimidation have contributed to an exodus of election officials across the country.

Barton understands the pressure they are under and has been on a mission to help them stay safe. She left her job in Rochester Hills shortly after the 2020 election and later became part of the newly formed Commission for Safe and Secure Elections. Since joining, she has given nearly 100 presentations across the country.

Earlier this month, The Associated Press was given rare access to the commission’s training session in Traverse City to observe the scenarios election workers are likely to face this year and discussions about how they and law enforcement can prepare for them.

The threats against Barton began after she posted a video intended to refute false claims made against her office by Ronna McDaniel, then-chairwoman of the Republican National Committee.

“None of these scenarios are sensational. These are all things that have already happened across the country in one way or another,” Barton tells the group. “To say, ‘Oh, that could never happen.’ These things are already happening.”

Barton’s partner in the training is Justin Smith, the former sheriff in Larimer County, Colorado, who signed up after retiring last year and hearing directly from local election officials about the series of threats they have faced since 2020.

Smith often speaks directly to the police officers and sheriff’s deputies in the room, explaining the role they play in elections and how the environment has changed since 2020. In years past, election officials would likely have dealt with issues on their own, such as protesters or unruly citizens wanting to promote their candidates at polling stations.

“It’s not that simple anymore,” Smith tells the group. “We need to be at the table and be part of the solution.”

He explains to election officials how law enforcement officials have historically tried to keep their distance from all things election, mindful of First Amendment concerns and not wanting to interfere with anyone’s right to vote.

“When I initially brought up the subject, there were a lot of law enforcement people who kind of winced, just because it’s a very controversial area.” Smith said during an interview after practice.

Barton guides election officials through various scenarios and encourages them to think about their responses, when it makes sense to alert law enforcement and when to consider releasing information to the public.

“I know there has been some dissatisfaction across the country among some election officials who feel they haven’t gotten the response from law enforcement that they thought law enforcement should have,” Barton told election officials. “So these conversations help us understand what they can actually do in those scenarios and what they can’t do.”

She said election offices could face everything from threatening emails and phone calls to an AI-generated robocall sent to poll workers telling them to stay home on Election Day. One of the scenarios Barton presented to the group mirrors events that unfolded in the days immediately following the election last fall, when local election offices in a handful of states received letters in the mail containing fentanyl, a highly potent synthetic opioid.

The example of fentanyl sparked animated conversations among election workers, as many of them began to understand that they were not taking sufficient precautions. As a clerk and her deputy sat next to each other, they realized that this was also how they opened the mail—together in the clerk’s office.

“If something were to happen to both of them, where does that chain of command go? For some of you, that might be your entire office,” Barton tells the group.

Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, whose office helped sponsor and coordinate the Traverse City training and who has also endured numerous threats, said it is imperative that law enforcement and election officials work together to ensure a smooth November election .

Benson said her office has provided grants to election offices to help them increase security. The federal government is also involved in this effort. The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency will assess the physical security of local election offices and has written guidance for employees on how to de-escalate tense situations.

Spencer Wood, the federal agency’s regional election security adviser, told attendees they were not dealing with the threats alone and praised them as the “frontline defenders” of the country’s elections.

“For more than 200 years, American democracy has weathered a range of physical, cyber and operational risks – and 2024 will be no different,” he said.

During the training, Barton referenced election officials who have retired or left the profession, citing stress since the 2020 presidential election. A survey last year by the Brennan Center for Justice found that about 1 in 5 election workers knew someone who left their election job for security reasons, and nearly three-quarters of local election officials said harassment had increased. Barton emphasized to the clerks the importance of access to mental health care.

Susanne Courtade, a former election official who attended the training in Michigan, not only plans to stay for the November election but is also running for another term despite being harassed in the wake of the November election 2020. She said she faced attacks on her character and demands for her removal.

“I felt attacked, but I also felt like if I stepped aside, they would win,” she said. “I am sad that we have reached this point where we need to better understand how to prepare and protect ourselves, our citizens and our workers, but I am glad we can come together.”

As clerks prepare for November, many of them expressed concerns about what lay ahead.

The week before the training session, Trump held a rally two hours south in Grand Rapids. Joining him on stage were a handful of sheriffs from across Michigan who supported him and heard Trump repeat that Democrats are “cheating elections.”

This past week, a small group of sheriffs from across the country gathered in Las Vegas to join forces with prominent election conspiracy theorists. The group, which calls itself the Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association, argues that sheriffs have unlimited power and must vet elections.

Traverse City Clerk Benjamin Marentette said training sessions like the one in Traverse City are crucial to ensure local election offices and law enforcement agencies are communicating.

“You can build that trust because everyone – law enforcement and election officials – 99% of them are there for the right reasons and with a genuine heart for service,” Marentette said.

Michael D. Shea, the sheriff in Grand Traverse County, said he was surprised at how vulnerable election officials can be because of the demands of their job. Shea, a Republican who is on the ballot this fall, said it was understandable that there were some concerns about the election, especially about the use of technology in parts of the voting process, but said he trusted experts and his local election officials.

“The goal is a safe, fair election,” said Shea, who attended the training. “And we intend to make that happen.”

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Associated Press writers Joey Cappelletti in Grand Rapids, Michigan; Nicholas Riccardi in Las Vegas; Scott Bauer in Madison, Wisconsin, and Ali Swenson in New York contributed to this report.

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