Senators push for details on protecting election officials amid threat concerns

Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), the chairwoman and ranking member of the Senate Rules Committee, are pressing a federal agency for details on how it is working to support election workers facing a growing number of threats following the 2020 election. 

Klobuchar and Blunt sent a letter this week to the Election Assistance Commission (EAC) that was first obtained by The Hill saying they had “heard about a number of challenges” election workers are facing in the lead up to the midterm elections. 

“The EAC plays a critical role in ensuring that election officials have the necessary information and resources to administer secure and successful elections, and it is important for the EAC to be prepared to support election officials as they work to address these obstacles,” they wrote in the letter. 

The two senators pointed to myriad potential hurdles that election workers face, including cybersecurity, misinformation, increased threats and the ability to recruit election workers. 

They are asking the commission for details on how it is working with the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency and the National Institute of Standards and Technology in assisting election officials to strengthen cybersecurity and countering election-related misinformation and disinformation. 

They also want to know how the EAC is working with election officials going into November and if it is providing assistance to recruit election workers. They are also asking if it has heard concerns that supply chain issues could impact election administration. 

The letter comes as election workers have voiced concerns about their safety heading into November. The Justice Department announced last year that it was starting the task force as the administration ramped up its push to protect voting rights and safeguard elections. 

A Brennan Center survey of local election workers also found that 1 in 6 local election officials have experienced threats and that more than 3 in 4 local election officials feel threats have increased in recent years.