Election officials under threat in battleground states ahead of midterm elections
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- There is a disturbing trend as the midterm elections approach. Officials are warning that threats against election workers have increased, including in Pennsylvania.
Just weeks away from the midterm elections, federal officials are closely monitoring potential threats, ranging from cyber to physical violence to misinformation.
"I think the greatest threat is anything that would make people not have confidence that elections are not accurate and that they were fair," Kim Wyman said.
Wyman is the senior election security lead at the nation's Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, known as CISA.
She previously served as Washington State's Secretary of State.
She knows the challenges that state and local election workers face firsthand.
"Some of the threats are real," Wyman said. "'We're going to hang you,' 'I hope somebody puts a bullet in your head.' So, it's unnerving."
According to the FBI, seven states -- including the key battlegrounds of Pennsylvania, Arizona, Colorado, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada and Wisconsin -- continue to see unusual levels of threats to election workers, driving some to quit out of concerns for their safety.
"I'm hearing from my colleagues across the country that they're having trouble getting people to work the polls and getting people on election day," Wyman said.
She says CISA has physical security specialists nationwide to help screen buildings and polling sites for vulnerabilities.
"I don't think most people understand the lengths that election officials go to protecting and securing our election system," Wyman said.
With midterms just around the corner, election workers are now beefing up security while also trying to build trust with voters in an increasingly polarized political climate.
Federal officials say they are also monitoring foreign agents who hope to undermine confidence in the U.S. election system, especially foreign agents in Russia and China.