According to a new survey, one in six election officials in the US feels unsafe about their work while one in six reported being threatened because of their job. This comes after November 3 elections, which former president Donald Trump repeatedly and falsely claimed to be rigged. Trump’s claims sparked protests and led to deadly violence at US Capitol on January 6.
US election officials and their families continue to face threats and intimations months after Republican Trump lost the presidential race to Democrat Joe Biden, said a Reuters report.
The Reuters investigation said that the threat to election officials was severe in the state of Georgia, where Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and other Republican election officials refuted Trump’s stolen-election claims.
The survey has been done by New York University’s nonpartisan Brennan Center for Justice. The report, published on Wednesday, has been produced jointly by Brennan Center and Bipartisan Policy Center, a Washington-based think tank.
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The report said that election officials fear for their safety in future votes that portends due to major staffing problems.
“Large numbers of election officials have resigned in the past year, raising alarm bells. But the wave of departures could soon turn into a tsunami,” said the report, quoted Reuters.
The Brennan Center surveyed 233 local election officials from April 1 to 7 across the US and said that survey had a 6.4% margin of error.
The report said most workers blamed social media for spreading disinformation, as 54% said that the platforms made their work more dangerous while 78% said it made it more difficult. The findings of the survey reflect a dangerous rise in disinformation, Reuters reported quoting the report.
