Election safety preparations underway in Pennsylvania
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — From the assassination attempt on a former president to the race for the White House getting heated, threats and violence are a major concern heading into the November election.
FBI Pittsburgh told KDKA-TV, "In recent months, the FBI has seen an increase in threats to election workers across the country. The types of threats are varied and have included online threats and harassment, white powder letters to election facilities, and swatting against election workers. The FBI takes all threats of violence seriously, including threats targeting those who do the critical work of administering free and fair elections throughout the U.S. All election workers should be permitted to do their jobs free from threats and intimidation."
FBI Director Christopher Wray faced questions from lawmakers on Tuesday over the attempted assassination of former president Donald Trump.
During the hearing, Pennsylvania Congresswoman Mary Gay Scanlon, who represents the 5th District, raised concerns about election safety in our battleground state. She said in 2020, falsehoods led to threats and attacks against election officials and poll workers in Pennsylvania.
"As we're approaching November, we want to ensure that those who implement and defend our elections, our neighbors and our nonpartisan civil servants, can do that important work free from conspiracy theories and threats," she said.
Scanlon asked Wray, "How is the FBI working with state and local law enforcement to prevent and respond to election-related violence, particularly against election workers?"
Wray told her the FBI is partnering with state and local law enforcement in a number of ways.
"We share threat bulletins, information like that, about things to be on the lookout for, things we're seeing. If we have specific threat information, then we work to get it to the right people. We have election crime coordinators, which we've had for decades in all 56 field offices, who have existing relationships with not just state and local law enforcement but election officials," Wray said.
He said the FBI is also participating in the Election Threats Task Force the United States Justice Department created this year, specifically for investigating threats against election workers. Wray said it has already led to a number of arrests and convictions.
Jessica Garofolo, Allegheny County's director of administrative services, said county staff meets with the task force monthly.
"We'll meet monthly to talk about different issues that are coming up in specific election offices and statewide and just trends. Maybe the FBI is seeing that they want to make everyone aware of it, but they offer training materials and tabletop exercises. And we're going to use some of that information to craft de-escalation training for our poll workers and threat mitigation training," Garofolo said.
Allegheny County Sheriff Kevin Kraus told KDKA-TV that his team is already meeting to talk about what may or may not happen before, during and after the election.
Kraus also said, "The safety of polling locations and poll workers also involves local jurisdictions and Sheriff Kraus will be reaching out to the Allegheny County Chiefs of Police Association in the next 60 days to have similar discussions with the various local departments. ... We will be thorough in these preparations and will use all available intelligence between now and November to make certain that we can carry out the mission of poll worker and polling location safety."
Allegheny County is always looking for poll workers. They expect to have 6,000 like the last election. People can sign up to be a poll worker online.
Garofolo said thankfully, the county hasn't had any credible threats towards poll workers or staff, including in the past elections.
"It's the person that lives down the street from you that's working at the polls," Garofolo said. "So, there's a sense of community, and people feel very protective. And I think that keeps the poll workers and the voters safe. So, it hasn't been a huge concern. But I still think with today's political climate, it's good that we're thinking ahead to November to keep everyone protected."
The FBI urges the public to maintain their vigilance and report any suspicious activity by calling 911, 1-800-CALL-FBI or online. If you're in danger call 911.
In the wake of the attempted assassination, the Shapiro administration recently said it's been working to mitigate any threats to the election process and reminds people the state has an election hotline. Voters and election workers can call 1-877-VOTESPA to report violence, threats, voter intimidation or election fraud.
FBI Pittsburgh shared more information about its election safety preparations with KDKA-TV:
"In close partnership with the FBI, the Department of Justice (DOJ) established the Election Threats Task Force to identify and address reported threats targeting election workers. Additionally, the FBI is actively preparing for the 2024 U.S. General Election through three general avenues:
- Ensuring each of the FBI's 56 field offices are aware of current threats and understand all election-related policies in order to respond to potential threats.
- Maintaining constant communication channels with local, state, and federal partners to share intelligence on the threat landscape.
- Working with our partners to push out actionable guidance to state and local election officials on how to prepare for or handle a variety of threats.