ATLANTA — U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff is pushing to strengthen protections for election workers against threats nationwide.
On Tuesday, the senator launched an inquiry with the Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation to ensure the agencies are taking necessary precautions to protect election workers and efficient administration of elections as voters head to the polls, according to a release.
Ossoff is asking the federal agencies to detail their processes for receiving and responding to threats, their steps to ensure staffing needs are met and plans to enforce existing laws to protect election workers. Some of the questions include what changes have been made given the rising threats toward election workers, how the FBI has responded to any internal challenges with understaffing and how many criminal prosecutions have been initiated since 2021 against people who allegedly made violent threats against election workers.
Overall, Ossoff stated that protecting the integrity of elections is contingent on protecting those who run them.
"Yet over the last several years, election workers in Georgia and across the country have reported increased intimidation, harassment and threats of violence," Ossoff wrote. "Election workers have been the victims of doing and swatting, receiving death threats and facing other harassment and intimidation."
The senator also said that with the general election in November, he's urging the DOJ and the FBI to prioritize efforts to protect the workers and quickly investigate any threats.
In general, according to a Brennan Center survey of election officials nationwide from earlier this year, 38% reported experiencing harassment or abuse in their role, and their concerns about threats to their own physical safety have risen since last year. In his letter, Ossoff also said that threats against election workers and officials have contributed to significant staff turnover, which has posed a challenge to ensuring elections are administered efficiently.
In response to the letter, the FBI told 11Alive that the agency takes any threats seriously and is working to protect election workers.
"The work of election officials is essential to our democracy. Election officials, their staffs and volunteers work tirelessly and selflessly to make sure that all eligible citizens can freely exercise their fundamental right to vote," the FBI wrote in a statement. "Any threat to an election official, volunteer or staff is completely unacceptable, and we at the FBI take those threats very seriously."
It also said that in response to increased threats targeting election workers, the Department of Justice, in partnership with the FBI, established the "Threats to Election Workers Task Force" in July 2021 to investigate and prosecute these threats. Every office has an election crimes coordinator who works with necessary or additional personnel to deal with any issues that may arise, the FBI said.
Its guidance to the public regarding election threats is as follows:
- Call 911 if there is an immediate threat to life.
- Contact the elections crimes coordinator at your local FBI office, call 1-800-CALL-FBI (255-5324), or submit a tip online.
- If feasible, attempt to preserve the threatening, harassing or intimidating communication.
Overall, Sen. Ossoff has made other moves to work to protect election workers. For example, in February, Ossoff joined Sen. Klobuchar and others in pushing for funding in the 2025 fiscal year budget to help state and local governments with the administration and security of federal elections, including maintaining and improving election infrastructure, keeping pace with emerging technology and enhancing cybersecurity to combat new threats. Also, according to a release, Ossoff introduced the "Election Worker and Polling Place Protection Act," which would broaden protections for election workers and volunteers.
Ossoff gave a deadline of July 26 for a written response to his inquiry. 11Alive also reached out to the Department of Justice and is awaiting a response.