Poll workers across the country have been bombarded with online harassment, in-person acts of intimidation and death threats, incited by conspiracy theories stemming from the 2020 presidential election.
Elected officials say they remain worried about their safety.
“I think there’s a very legitimate threat of political violence in this country unlike anything we’ve seen in recent time,” Jena Griswold, Colorado’s secretary of state, said in an interview with USA TODAY.
“We’ve seen a kidnapping attempt of a sitting governor, political violence against the former speaker’s husband, and of course threats and retaliation against election workers,” she said.
Multiple states moved to create new poll worker protections this year, and in recent months a handful have moved to further incentivize the people many view as the first-line defense of democracy in the United States. Americans who volunteer to oversee and administer our elections are now being offered pay raises.
In June, Oklahoma legislators, who said finding people willing to work on election days has become harder as many veterans have retired, gave election inspectors a 125% pay hike from $110 to $225 per day while doubling the pay for judges and clerks to $200.
Earlier this month in Alabama, Gov. Kay Ivey signed a measure providing a $50 pay increase for election clerks and inspectors, which marked the first pay hike since 2006.
“As a former probate judge, I know firsthand how vital poll workers are to election administration in our state. Poll workers love our communities and work extremely hard,” Wes Allen, who serves as Alabama secretary of state, said in a statement to USA TODAY.
Experts and pro-democracy groups say these steps mark another serious attempt to boost the morale and number of Americans willing to join the herculean task of administering the 2024 presidential election.
But surveys show, despite efforts to fortify legal protections and raise pay, election workers continue to feel the pressure of threats brought on by a relentless misinformation campaign, and remain headed for the exit door.
And even as states begin to take this crisis more seriously, advocates are pleading for federal action to improve conditions for poll workers around the country.
Poll: U.S. could be losing 1.5 election workers each day
Public officials are rightfully biting their nails about losing experienced election administration professionals ahead of 2024, given the continued bleeding.
Roughly three-quarters of local election workers said they feel that threats against them have increased in recent years, according to an April survey by the Brennan Center of Justice.
Larry Norden, a senior director for elections and government at the Brennan Center, said it remains unclear if state efforts, including new protections or pay raises, have worked. Their polling data shows the people on the frontline of democracy remain fatigued.
“Election officials are still concerned both about the safety of staff that includes for workers, but also about the impact that threats, harassment and intimidation will have on recruiting and retaining staff in the future,” he said.
The survey also found 11% of poll workers said they are very or somewhat likely to leave their position before the 2024 contest. If these officials follow through and exit their positions, the Brennan Center said, the country will lose roughly 1.5 election officials per day between the November 2020 and 2024 elections.
Federal government must do more, poll workers say
As states continue to step up, poll workers say the federal government needs to do more to support them, according to the Brennan Center survey.
About 31% said the federal government is not doing anything toward supporting them or their roles in the wake of 2020. That is far less than the 11% who said the same about their state government, and 8% who agreed with that statement about their municipal government.
Earlier this year, a group of two dozen current and former elected officials urged Congress to invest $400 million in security grants toward safeguarding poll workers.
Meanwhile, advocates and state legislators are thinking of solutions other than pay hikes, including organizations like Vet the Votes, a national group that has launched a campaign to recruit 100,000 military veterans and their family members to be the next generation of poll workers.
In 2022, more than 63,000 retired service members signed up to help administer the midterm elections, the group said.
“Election officials and others who are concerned about this issue, have to start getting more creative about how to get poll workers because of all the challenges there are to make sure that we’re adequately staffed,” Norden said.
This year, for example, Louisiana enacted legislation permitting a service member who lives in another state or their dependents, if they are stationed in the state, to serve as a poll worker under certain conditions. That change created an exception that a poll worker must be a registered voter in Louisiana.
“I don’t think there’s any question that we need to be thanking the people who do this work, we need to be lifting them up, and it wouldn’t hurt to pay them more either,” Norden said.
