[ad_1]
Fontes, a Democrat and Marine Corps veteran, doesn’t think he’s overreacting.
“We recognize the real and present danger posed by conspiracy theories and lies,” Fontes said. “All we can do at this point is take a few precautions. That’s what we’re trying to do.”
People who are engaged in voting activities all over the country, — More than a dozen of them said they were interviewed by the Washington Post. Countries are bracing for the kind of turmoil that has historically been more associated with political instability overseas than with U.S. elections.
In a year when Republicans continue to deny the results of the last election and appear to be on track to nominate President Donald Trump, who is already calling into question the integrity of this election, election officials are seeking to preserve the election. We are pushing harder than ever to achieve this goal. We ensure the safety of election workers, educate voters about how the voting and vote-counting process works, debunk misinformation, and hold accountable those who seek to disrupt the democratic process.
they are powered up Increased advertising budgets, training for election officials, learning the best ways to quickly correct misinformation, and strengthening collaboration with federal, state, and local law enforcement to better respond to intimidation and harassment. is.
The scale of the effort reflects the magnitude of the challenge. Despite President Trump’s relentless attacks on the electoral system for years, fewer than one-third of Republicans believe Biden’s 2020 victory was legitimate. Many voters who believe their votes were fraudulent cite as evidence a series of claims that have been repeatedly debunked. New conspiracy theories emerge almost every day, some tracing their origins to lifelike AI-generated videos. Meanwhile, election officials face constant harassment and intimidation.
Officials say they are realistic about how much can be done to counter these trends.
“You’ll never catch the true believers or the people who perpetrate discord,” Matt Crane said. A former election official, he currently serves as executive director of the Colorado County Clerks Association, which advocates for local election officials. “Jesus Christ might come and say, “No, you’re wrong.” And those people would say to Jesus, “You’re crazy.”
In response to the advanced preparations, a Trump campaign spokesperson said in a statement: “Election integrity is one of the cornerstones of our democracy, and there is no one who will champion free and fair elections more than President Trump.” .
The days leading up to the 2022 midterm elections come after Trump and his allies have spent two years threatening to flood polling places and vote-counting stations with partisan observers and hinting that they might not accept the results. , election officials had similar concerns. In the end, the election went largely without a hitch, and although President Trump’s personal call for protesters to gather in Detroit on Election Day had no effect, it offered some hope about the resilience of American democracy. .
Still, election officials say they don’t have a chance this year, especially since Trump himself is on track to return to the polls. They say they are prepared to do almost anything to counter growing efforts to undermine confidence in American elections.
In Colorado, the Executive Committee of the County Clerks Association sent a letter to elected officials across the state, guaranteeing election integrity and “throwing out fraudsters, fraudsters, and bullies who deserve our scorn and disdain.” I begged him to stand up to me. December The letter provides talking points to share with officials asked about the voting process, saying, “This is a time for courage, not cowardice.”
In Michigan, local election workers are being trained on how to de-escalate situations, and state officials have launched a text messaging program to help workers quickly contact their supervisors or law enforcement if they are in danger. ing. This idea is already being implemented in Georgia.
Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson said, “We know that part of the purpose of threatening election officials is to scare not just election officials, but voters, so we don’t want to make the threat worse than it really is.” (D) “We are very intentional about creating plans to deter, de-escalate and protect, and we also want everyone to know that none of this deters us from doing our work. I’ve been trying to let you know.”
In Nevada, Secretary of State Cisco Aguilar (D) meets regularly with pastors and neighborhood groups, building trust in the process. The office had been preparing for inaccurate information to be spread in English and Spanish months before the 2024 cycle began.
When false claims began circulating that Trump would not participate in February’s Nevada presidential primary because Trump’s team forgot to turn over paperwork, Aguilar’s office warned voters that Trump Other Republican candidates have repeatedly said in both languages that they have chosen instead to join the Republican-sanctioned caucus. . The office also hired three new investigators to investigate voter fraud, intimidation of election officials and other election-related allegations.
Nowhere is this aggressive attitude more evident than in the political battleground states that decided the last presidential election and withstood attempts to overturn the result. Many workers who were on the front lines of operations in 2020 and 2022 I quit my job due to the hostile environment caused by the election. Those who remain are taking a more aggressive approach this year, hoping for a more peaceful process.
This is especially true in Arizona.
When Trump and his allies sought to overturn Biden’s 2020 victory, Arizona was one of their top targets. Officials overcame death threats and harassment to defend the electoral process and its results. In 2020, Fontes was the top elections official in Maricopa County, the state’s most populous county. There are Trump supporters surrounded one of his colleagues outside the building where ballots are being processed. A colleague had to be dragged from the angry crowd by sheriff’s deputies.
Fontes and others are looking for ways to alleviate the harassment some election workers face.Them Include the possibility for employees to register their home address with law enforcement agencies just in case. They are the target of a harassment tactic known as swatting, prank calls to emergency services aimed at eliciting a police response.And as part of efforts to quickly combat disinformation and misinformation, Fontes said It teaches officials and the public how to spot fake videos and photos generated by artificial intelligence.
In addition to these statewide efforts, local leaders are developing their own plans.In the days before and after the election, the Phoenix area the sheriff’s office strengthen monitoring of Visit county vote-counting headquarters by horseback, drone or other means. In Cochise County, a conservative, rural area in southern Arizona, officials have taught election workers how to identify fentanyl exposure and how to administer the overdose-reversing drug Narcan, according to Sheriff Mark Dannels (R). They are planning to train. Late last year, election offices across the country received letters containing a white powdery substance, some of which was initially thought to be fentanyl.
“We’ve never done anything like that before,” Dannels said. “It’s a sad situation.”
Officials across Arizona said protecting election integrity and poll worker safety starts with better voter education and countering misinformation.
In Maricopa, home of Phoenix, Most of the state’s voters and county officials has conducted more than 200 tours of vote-counting facilities, guiding people step-by-step through the vote-counting process. The county attorney’s office has added another attorney to handle election-related work, including responding to efforts to interfere with voting.
Republican-led county governing board The plan is to operate an emergency communications center modeled after systems used during natural disasters to manage the flow of information quickly and efficiently, according to officials familiar with the plan. In 2020, county leaders assigned two employees to respond to election-related inquiries from the public. Seven employees are dedicated to such calls this year, and county leaders are working on a plan to allocate up to 26 additional employees to the center.
The county tested the emergency communications center during the 2022 midterm elections. Those assigned to the center not only debunked a plethora of deceptive information in both English and Spanish, but also set expectations for the public about the length of time it would take to count the ballots. This year, the county is testing technology that would embed digital information in online videos and photos to help people distinguish between official government information and deepfakes, according to people familiar with the project.
Pinal County, a conservative area adjacent to the Phoenix metropolitan area, was overwhelmed. During the midterm elections, requests for video recordings of ballot drop boxes made the steel boxes the center of a false story that “mules” illegally stuffed fraudulent ballots in support of Biden.
This time, Pinal authorities are increasing internet capacity to stream live footage of the boxes online in hopes of deterring armed citizens from showing up to monitor them.
The county is also preparing to expand its use of GPS devices to track the movement of bundles of ballots and voting equipment. The tracking system was first tested during the midterm elections and was developed in response to false claims about voting security that surfaced in 2020. Rumor has it that a school bus loaded with voting supplies was abandoned in a desert town. (The bus was not abandoned because it was loaded with office equipment.)
“We knew it was just a rumor and that it was trying to evoke certain emotions, negative emotions,” the county said. Recorder, Dana Lewis (R). “But it was very frustrating that we couldn’t disprove that.”
Authorities are also working to increase penalties for those who attempt to interfere with elections.
Arizona Attorney General Chris Mays (D) was indicted on a felony charge late last year. against two Cochise County Republican supervisors who delayed governing. Board acceptance of midterm election results. Supervisors have maintained their innocence and determined the incident was politically motivated.Maze is also being investigated republican party Electors who falsely portrayed Trump as the winner of the 2020 state.
The investigation could soon lead to long-anticipated indictments, according to people familiar with the investigation. Mays reorganized a department that was once dedicated to investigating claims of election fraud, some of which were false, and instead focused on threats to election officials, voting rights and access to ballots. .
She told the Post that her office “will not tolerate any effort to undermine our democracy.”
Patrick Marley and Emily Guskin contributed to this report.
[ad_2]
Source link