One in three U.S. election officials feels unsafe -survey

One in three U.S. election officials feels unsafe on the job and one in six reported being threatened because of their work... That’s according to a survey published Wednesday by NYU’s nonpartisan Brennan Center for Justice.

DONALD TRUMP: "This is a fraud on the American public."

The results reflect a reckoning in the wake of an election in which former Republican President Donald Trump – who lost - spent months falsely alleging the contest was "rigged" against him.

Trump’s baseless voter-fraud accusations have had dark consequences for elections leaders and workers in contested states like Georgia, Arizona and Michigan.

Some have faced protests at their homes or have been followed in their cars.

Many have received death threats, according to a Reuters investigation, which found that the threats and intimidation are still happening months after Trump's November loss.

Reuters spoke to Tricia Raffensperger – the wife of Georgia’s Secretary of State who along with other Republican election officials have refuted Trump's election fraud claims.

She’s received violent threats to her family since the election, including a chilling text message in April that read (quote) "You and your family will be killed very slowly." A week earlier, another anonymous text said (quote) "we plan for the death of you and your family every day."

The Brennan Center – which surveyed more than 200 local election officials across the country between April 1st and 7th – found that many election workers blamed social media for spreading falsehoods and making their work more difficult and dangerous.

The report urged states to protect election employees' personal information and pay for security measures such as home security systems.

U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland recently acknowledged the rising threat to election workers and said the DOJ will aggressively protect voting rights at a time when many Republican-led states are tightening election laws.

With 2022 midterm congressional elections and the 2024 presidential election coming up, the report also found that these safety fears will likely create major staffing problems in the future.