Ballot box arson underscores potential threats to US election
The News
With just days remaining before Election Day, intelligence agencies are urging local law enforcement and election officials to prepare for a heightened risk of threats to ballot drop-off boxes, polling places, and election workers.
CBS reported that in a bulletin published this week, the Department of Homeland Security warned that “Some individuals are calling for violence as a response to election fraud narratives, primarily targeting election officials and populations that threat actors perceive as threatening the integrity of the 2024 general election.”
The concerns have taken on fresh urgency after two ballot drop-off boxes in Oregon and Washington were set on fire Monday. The incumbent House Democrat in the Washington district, who won the congressional seat by a handful of votes in 2022, encouraged voters who used the affected ballot box over the weekend to contact local election officials and request a replacement ballot.
In response to the risk, many election officials have significantly increased security measures to protect both ballot boxes and to protect polling stations and poll workers, PBS reported, while law enforcement agencies have ramped up security measures.
SIGNALS
Intelligence community warns ballot boxes are top target
US intelligence agencies have repeatedly warned that stories about election fraud have fueled domestic extremism, with issues like immigration, LGBTQ rights, and abortion also among the potential motivators. Those potential threats include physical attacks, violence at polling places, and targeting ballot drop boxes, NBC News reported, with both the FBI and Department of Homeland Security engaging with state and local law enforcement to ensure the election proceeds as safely as possible. The potential threats are “not typical election threat intelligence,” a government transparency watchdog told NBC, and reflect a “radically heightened threat environment.”
Polling stations fortified with extra-security for poll workers
Among the increased security measures local election officials are taking are physical fortification, like installing “panic buttons” to summon police and new bulletproof glass windows, PBS reported. Some districts are also training poll workers to deal safely with disruptive individuals who act as poll watchers — while both parties have long encouraged supporters to monitor polls, in 2020 and 2022, there were instances of poll watchers accused of voter intimidation and disruptive behavior. Some states have also introduced new technology in an effort to make the voting process more transparent: Arizona, for instance, has installed cameras to broadcast live feeds from inside tabulation rooms, while Delaware is using an artificial intelligence system to detect unusual voting patterns.
Confidence in US election security reveals significant partisan divide
Most American voters were somewhat confident the election will be administered fairly , according to the Pew Research Center: 90% of Harris supporters are somewhat confident compared to 57% of Trump supporters, who have even less confidence in the security of mail-in ballots. The lack of confidence has inspired some Republicans in battleground states like Arizona to volunteer for Trump specifically because they are worried about election integrity, The New York Times reported. However, the US electoral process is “as secure, transparent and verifiable as they’ve ever been,” David Becker, the founder of nonpartisan Center for Election Innovation & Research and a former Justice Department official, told CNN. Becker pointed to the high use of paper ballots, the most auditable form of ballot.
