DOJ deploys district elections officers to handle ‘threats and intimidation’

The Justice Department is deploying district elections officers across the nation ahead of Election Day to ensure poll workers can “do their jobs free from threats and intimidation.” 

The elections officers are expected to work in coordination with the Justice Department’s Election Threats Task Force, which was created in June 2021 by Attorney General Merrick Garland and Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco to address alleged violence against election workers. 

The task force, since its inception, has been engaging with the election community and state and local law enforcement to assess allegations and reports of threats against election workers, according to the Justice Department. The task force also partners with FBI field offices and U.S. Attorneys’ Offices throughout the U.S. 

This week, U.S. attorneys offices announced their district elections officers, which are selected each election cycle, to coordinate with the Elections Threats Task Force and federal, state and local law enforcement on Election Day. The coordination will ensure reports on the ground regarding any election-related complaints are coordinated with appropriate authorities, officials said. 

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A man fills out a ballot at a voting booth on May 17, 2022 in Mt. Gilead, North Carolina. (Getty Images)

The district elections officers are also responsible for overseeing their district’s handling of Election Day complaints about voting rights concerns, threats of violence to election officials or staff, and election fraud, officials said. 

“The Department will address these violations wherever they occur,” the Justice Department said in a statement. 

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The DOJ added that its “longstanding Election Day Program furthers these goals and also seeks to ensure public confidence in the electoral process by providing local points of contact within the Department for the public to report possible federal election law violations.” 

Just last month, Garland convened a public meeting of the task force, saying there has been an “unprecedented spike in threats against the public servants who do administer our elections” since 2020. 

Attorney General Merrick Garland speaks during a news conference at the Department of Justice on Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024 in Washington, D.C. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

Since the task force was created, the DOJ has charged nearly two dozen individuals related to alleged threats to election workers. 

“These cases are a warning: if you threaten to harm or kill an election worker or official or volunteer, the Justice Department will find you,” Garland said last month. “And we will hold you accountable.” 

Just this year, the DOJ charged an individual for an alleged shooting spree targeting the homes of elected officials and a candidate for office; an individual for sending threatening communications to a Michigan election official; and more. 

Garland said the Justice Department will continue to build on its work ahead of the Nov. 5 Election Day by holding on-the-ground meetings with election workers across the nation. 

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Garland also announced that ahead of Election Day, in early November, the FBI will host federal partners at FBI headquarters to address events, issues and potential crimes related to the elections. 

“Election officials and administrators do not need to navigate this threat environment alone,” Garland said. “We are here to support them and make sure they can safely carry out their critical work.”