Election workers may need to become whistleblowers this fall
While federal whistleblowers like Edward Snowden and Chelsea Manning may loom large in the public imagination, lawyers at the Government Accountability Project, a nonprofit whistleblower protection organization, are preparing for a potential influx of calls from a new type of client this fall: election workers.
Local, county and state election officials, poll workers and even contractors like voting machine operators are best positioned to identify and warn of attempts to interfere with the election process, according to a guide for whistleblowers in battleground states released today by the organization.
“These are just public servants who we are depending on to really protect our democracy,” said Dana Gold, director of the Government Accountability Project’s Democracy Protection Initiative. The guide is a way to ensure election workers know “that they have the right to speak up … and that they don't have to do it alone.”
As former President Donald Trump and other Republicans continue to cast doubt on the integrity of the American election process, threats to election workers have intensified. Nearly 40% of local election officials reported experiencing threats, harassment or abuse last year, according to a Brennan Center for Justice survey. And 62% reported concerns about political leaders engaging in efforts to interfere with how election officials do their jobs.
https://www.route-fifty.com/management/2024/10/election-workers-may-need-become-whistleblowers-fall/399970/