The Committee for Safe and Secure Elections features cross-partisan experts in election administration and law enforcement who aim to support policies and practices that protect election workers and voters from violence, threats, and intimidation. Our members often advise lawmakers about public policies that could support of our mission. Below are principles that we believe should inform policy solutions in this space.
Read the full policy paper here.
Ensure adequate resources, security, and training to address emerging threats to election workers
Election workers across the country have emphasized the importance of adequate funding to ensure the safety of election officials and workers and the security of the elections they oversee. While the specific needs differ by location, a vast majority agree that continued funding is necessary to maintain safe and secure elections.
Protect the privacy of election workers and their families as a defense against threats
We believe it is important to strike a balance between the need for electoral transparency and personal privacy for election officials. Protecting confidentiality and personally identifying material is critical in a heightened threat environment.
Promote meaningful accountability for perpetrators of threats
Threatening or attacking election workers and voters is unacceptable, and holding perpetrators accountable is critical to deterring such behavior in the future. We support increased dialogue between election administrators, law enforcement and policy makers about the nature of existing and potential threats, specific laws on the books for addressing them, ways to reduce public misinformation, and opportunities to improve our response to this problem.
Increase access to data about threats against election workers to support policy solutions
It is important that there be publicly accessible mechanisms for tracking reported threats, identifying patterns in threat data, and summarizing actions taken on reported threats.
