Christina A. Cassidy

Election officials have been targets of harassment and even death threats since the 2020 presidential election, primarily by people acting on Trump’s lies that the election was stolen from him.

National Politics |
Election officials prepare for threats with panic buttons, bulletproof glass

September 17, 2024 at 6:14 p.m.

Election officials have been targets of harassment and even death threats since the 2020 presidential election, primarily by people acting on Trump’s lies that the election was stolen from him.

An effort to access voting system software in several states and provide it to allies of former President Donald Trump as they sought to overturn the results of the 2020 election has raised “serious threats” ahead of next year’s presidential contest, according to a group of experts.

Election |
Voting experts warn of ‘serious threats’ for 2024 from election equipment software breaches

December 5, 2023 at 5:00 p.m.

An effort to access voting system software in several states and provide it to allies of former President Donald Trump as they sought to overturn the results of the 2020...

Authorities are trying to determine who sent suspicious letters, including some containing fentanyl or other substances, to local election offices in at least five states. It's the latest instance of threats faced by election workers around the country. Elections offices in California, Georgia, Nevada, Oregon and Washington appeared to have been targeted. The Pierce County auditor’s office in Tacoma, Washington, released images of the letter it received, showing the letter was postmarked in Portland, Oregon, and read in part, “End elections now." Authorities are also trying to intercept a letter headed to an elections office in Fulton County, Georgia, the largest voting jurisdiction in one of the nation’s most important presidential swing states.

National News |
Election offices are sent envelopes with fentanyl or other substances. Authorities are investigating

November 9, 2023 at 8:33 p.m.

Authorities are trying to determine who sent suspicious letters, including some containing fentanyl or other substances, to local election offices in at least five states. It's the latest instance of...

More than a dozen people nationally have been charged with threatening election workers by a special Justice Department unit. Prosecutors are trying to curb the menacing of election workers. Those staffers are being inundated with violent and graphic threats even in normally quiet periods between elections. Some point to former President Donald Trump and his allies repeatedly and falsely claiming the 2020 election was stolen and spreading conspiracy theories about election workers. Two more people pleaded guilty Thursday to threatening election workers in Arizona and Georgia. Already, two cases have resulted in yearslong prison sentences, including one where a man threatened to “lynch” an Arizona election official.

Election |
Election workers have gotten death threats and warnings they will be lynched, the US government says

August 31, 2023 at 9:00 p.m.

More than a dozen people nationally have been charged with threatening election workers by a special Justice Department unit. Prosecutors are trying to curb the menacing of election workers. Those...

All Stories