DOJ cracks down on threats to poll workers

A 64-year-old Iowa man was arrested earlier this month for threatening to kill election officials in Maricopa County, Arizona — a pivotal county at the center of the 2020 election and subsequent state recount where former President Donald Trump lost by about 10,000 votes.

“When we come to lynch your stupid lying Commie [expletive], you’ll remember that you lied on the [expletive] Bible, you piece of [expletive]. You’re gonna die, you piece of [expletive]. We’re going to hang you. We’re going to hang you,” the man allegedly said in a voicemail left for Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich on Sept. 27, 2021, according to the Justice Department.

It’s just one example of the kind of rising number of violent threats election workers are facing as they approach the Nov. 8 midterms. The Department of Justice and other law enforcement agencies are cracking down on the escalation of violent threats ahead of another pivotal U.S. election that could flip the balance of power in Congress.

“Threats to election workers not only threaten the safety of the individuals concerned, but also jeopardize the stability of the U.S. electoral process,” the Federal Bureau of Investigation said in a public service announcement earlier this month. Homeland Security warned in June that “calls for violence by domestic violent extremists” against election workers, candidates and democratic institutions will like rise the closer we get to the midterms.

DOJ has fielded an increasing number of reports of threatening voicemails, online messages and even in-person encounters since Trump lost the 2020 election.

“These threats against election officials continue,” Michael McDonald, a professor of political science at the University of Florida, told CNBC. “It’s straining and stressing election officials. And in some cases, they are opting to retire from running elections.”

Earlier this month, DOJ Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite Jr., who runs the agency’s criminal division, briefed hundreds of election officials and workers on federal government grants available under the 2002 Help American Vote Act to bolster physical security at election locations. The act authorized an additional $75 million for security for this year — up from $425 million in 2020 — and additional funding from the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan can also be used to protect election workers, Polite said.

The precautions stem from the unprecedented intimidation of election officials and workers…