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Election Officials Are Under Attack -- The Brennan Center for Justice
Democracies die because of domestic terrorism.
Threats of violence are violence.
Threatening gestures like parading with trucks and guns around election officials' homes or at election time is violence.
We ignore threats at our peril; next year will be too late.
More info from Huffington Post:
Tell the truth or your three kids will be fatally shot,” Al Schmidt, a Republican city commissioner on the Philadelphia Board of Elections, quoted one such threat to him.
“RINO stole election, we steal lives,” read another threat.
Another said: “Cops can’t help you. heads on spikes, treasonous Schmidts.”
Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs, the state’s top election official and a Democrat, testified that “armed protesters” gathered in front of her house, chanting, “Katie come out and play. We are watching you,” after Trump lied that his loss in the state was due to election fraud.
“As an elected official, I expected that sometimes I would have constituents who were unhappy with me,” Hobbs said. “But I never expected that holding this office would result in far-right trolls threatening my children, threatening my husband’s employment at a children’s hospital or calling my office saying I deserve to die and asking, ‘What is she wearing today, so she’ll be easy to get.’”
Today's hearing before the Senate Rules Committee was designed to gather testimony from state and local election officials about the torrent of harassment and death threats that followed Trump’s lies about the 2020 election. The hearing was part of Democrats’ push to pass voting rights legislation that includes new protections for election officials.
The bill introduces new felony crimes for threatening, intimidating and disclosing personal information of election workers. It also expands the number of those workers who qualify for such protection.
Since Trump’s various attempts to overturn his loss, state and local election officials, in areas of all political stripes, have faced a torrent of constant harassment and death threats.
One in three election officials now feel unsafe in their job, and one in five believe death threats to be a main job concern, according to a report by the Brennan Center for Justice, a nonprofit that backs voting rights legislation.
The Trump-inspired threats specifically followed officials targeted by the former president. Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and those in his office faced constant death threats after the Republican election official refused Trump’s request that he “find” enough votes to reverse the state’s election outcome.
“RINO stole election, we steal lives,” read another threat.
Another said: “Cops can’t help you. heads on spikes, treasonous Schmidts.”
Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs, the state’s top election official and a Democrat, testified that “armed protesters” gathered in front of her house, chanting, “Katie come out and play. We are watching you,” after Trump lied that his loss in the state was due to election fraud.
“As an elected official, I expected that sometimes I would have constituents who were unhappy with me,” Hobbs said. “But I never expected that holding this office would result in far-right trolls threatening my children, threatening my husband’s employment at a children’s hospital or calling my office saying I deserve to die and asking, ‘What is she wearing today, so she’ll be easy to get.’”
Today's hearing before the Senate Rules Committee was designed to gather testimony from state and local election officials about the torrent of harassment and death threats that followed Trump’s lies about the 2020 election. The hearing was part of Democrats’ push to pass voting rights legislation that includes new protections for election officials.
The bill introduces new felony crimes for threatening, intimidating and disclosing personal information of election workers. It also expands the number of those workers who qualify for such protection.
Since Trump’s various attempts to overturn his loss, state and local election officials, in areas of all political stripes, have faced a torrent of constant harassment and death threats.
One in three election officials now feel unsafe in their job, and one in five believe death threats to be a main job concern, according to a report by the Brennan Center for Justice, a nonprofit that backs voting rights legislation.
The Trump-inspired threats specifically followed officials targeted by the former president. Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and those in his office faced constant death threats after the Republican election official refused Trump’s request that he “find” enough votes to reverse the state’s election outcome.
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-election-official-death-threats-senate-hearing_n_61786e5ee4b079111a5d9fd3
