1 in 5 local election officials say they're likely to quit before 2024

1 in 5 local election officials say they're likely to quit before 2024

For the past two years, the people who run America's elections have been sounding the alarm.

The polarized voting environment that has come out of the 2020 election has led to near daily harassment¹ and death threats for some election officials and made the profession unsustainable for many.

Now there's new data to back up those concerns.

A new survey of local election officials released Thursday by the Brennan Center for Justice found that 1 in 5 local election administrators² say they are likely to leave their jobs before the 2024 presidential election.

"There's a crisis in election administration," said Larry Norden, the senior director of elections and government at the Brennan Center. "[Election administrators] are concerned, and they're not getting the support that they need."

The Brennan Center worked with the Benenson Strategy Group, which has worked for a number of national Democratic political campaigns, to conduct the poll over two weeks in early February among 596 local election officials. Respondents were split fairly evenly across the political spectrum³: 26% identified as Democrats⁴, 30% as Republicans, and 44% said they were independent. The margin⁵ of error was about 4%.

The poll results show that the 2020 election — specifically former President Donald Trump⁶'s continued false attacks on the legitimacy⁷ of the voting process — is playing a large role in how voting officials feel about their work.

Of those election officials who said they were likely to leave their jobs before 2024, the most common reasons why were that too many politicians were attacking "a system that they know is fair and honest" and that the job was too stressful.

A majority of voting officials surveyed also said they're worried about interference by political leaders in how they do their jobs in future elections, a reflection of the unprecedented⁸ effort by Trump and his campaign to influence election officials at the state and local level.

Misinformation has driven threats of violence on election professionals

"I get scared that someone I know is going to be seriously hurt one day," said Natalie Adona, an election official in Nevada County, Calif. "I know that's a thought that's shared with others who I've talked to."

Adona says she recently got a restraining order against someone who slammed a door into one of her staff members.

Almost a fifth of election administrators surveyed in the Brennan Center poll say they've been threatened because of their job, and more than half of them say they are worried about the safety of their colleagues in future elections.

Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold said at a recent meeting of officials from across the country that she'd received 22 death threats just in the previous week, and she was asking for guidance on whether states could spend federal elections grant money on personal security for election officials.

"They're thinking about things like, 'Can we afford bulletproof glass for certain offices?' " said Norden, from the Brennan Center.

Local officials say election administration needs more funding

More than 3 out of every 4 election officials surveyed said the federal government should be doing more to support them.

There is no regular funding system for elections from the federal government, though in recent years, states have received one-off influxes⁹ of cash from Congress. The federal omnibus spending bill Congress is advancing this week includes $75 million for elections infrastructure¹⁰ improvements.

That is better than nothing, experts say, but it's nowhere near the amount of money they believe is necessary considering all the new responsibilities election officials have taken on in recent years, including cyber and physical security.

A recent report from the Brennan Center and Verified Voting found that it would cost more than $100 million just to replace the least secure voting machines still in use in the U.S.

"Some of the pressure [on officials], quite frankly¹¹, is economic," said Kathleen Hale, who directs the Election Administration Initiative at Auburn University. "Election offices are ridiculously underfunded by anybody's metric. And I haven't seen much in elections that couldn't be resolved by a healthy infusion¹² of cash."

There is no national data on exactly how many election officials have already left the profession since 2020, but Hale says she has definitely noticed a shadow from that election over many of the people running local offices. That is frustrating¹³, she says, considering there were no actual major issues.

"People who are attracted to this work and stay in it are tremendously proud of the work that they do. They feel that they have really accomplished¹⁴ something to conduct an election, especially a presidential," Hale said. "And for the first time in my memory, people were discouraged by the environment around the 2020 election — despite the fact that it was, by any measure, the most successful election we've ever had."

The Brennan Center poll did find that most election officials — roughly 75% — say they find real enjoyment¹⁵ in their jobs. But a majority also said they worry that the current environment will make it more difficult to retain or recruit election workers in the future.

1 harassment   

n.骚扰，扰乱，烦恼，烦乱

参考例句：

• She often got telephone harassment at night these days.这些天她经常在夜晚受到电话骚扰。
• The company prohibits any form of harassment.公司禁止任何形式的骚扰行为。

2 administrators   

n.管理者( administrator的名词复数 )；有管理（或行政）才能的人；（由遗嘱检验法庭指定的）遗产管理人；奉派暂管主教教区的牧师

参考例句：

• He had administrators under him but took the crucial decisions himself. 他手下有管理人员，但重要的决策仍由他自己来做。 来自辞典例句
• Administrators have their own methods of social intercourse. 办行政的人有他们的社交方式。 来自汉英文学 - 围城

3 spectrum   

n.谱，光谱，频谱；范围，幅度，系列

参考例句：

• This is a kind of atomic spectrum.这是一种原子光谱。
• We have known much of the constitution of the solar spectrum.关于太阳光谱的构成，我们已了解不少。

4 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 margin   

n.页边空白；差额；余地，余裕；边，边缘

参考例句：

• We allowed a margin of 20 minutes in catching the train.我们有20分钟的余地赶火车。
• The village is situated at the margin of a forest.村子位于森林的边缘。

6 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

7 legitimacy   

n.合法，正当

参考例句：

• The newspaper was directly challenging the government's legitimacy.报纸直接质疑政府的合法性。
• Managing from the top down,we operate with full legitimacy.我们进行由上而下的管理有充分的合法性。

8 unprecedented   

adj.无前例的，新奇的

参考例句：

• The air crash caused an unprecedented number of deaths.这次空难的死亡人数是空前的。
• A flood of this sort is really unprecedented.这样大的洪水真是十年九不遇。

9 influxes   

n.大量涌入( influx的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Such rapid influxes of sediment probably overwhelm the bottom dwellers in an area. 沉积物如此迅速的汇集可能把这一地区的海底生物全部淹没了。 来自辞典例句
• Conduction,Convection and radiation can bring heat influxes. 计算过程考虑了核热沉积以及热传导、热辐射、对流引起的换热过程。 来自互联网

10 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

11 frankly   

adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说

参考例句：

• To speak frankly, I don't like the idea at all.老实说，我一点也不赞成这个主意。
• Frankly speaking, I'm not opposed to reform.坦率地说，我不反对改革。

12 infusion   

n.灌输

参考例句：

• Old families need an infusion of new blood from time to time.古老的家族需要不时地注入新鲜血液。
• Careful observation of the infusion site is necessary.必须仔细观察输液部位。

13 frustrating   

adj.产生挫折的，使人沮丧的，令人泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的现在分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧

参考例句：

• It's frustrating to have to wait so long. 要等这么长时间，真令人懊恼。
• It was a demeaning and ultimately frustrating experience. 那是一次有失颜面并且令人沮丧至极的经历。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 accomplished   

adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的

参考例句：

• Thanks to your help,we accomplished the task ahead of schedule.亏得你们帮忙,我们才提前完成了任务。
• Removal of excess heat is accomplished by means of a radiator.通过散热器完成多余热量的排出。

15 enjoyment   

n.乐趣；享有；享用

参考例句：

• Your company adds to the enjoyment of our visit. 有您的陪同，我们这次访问更加愉快了。
• After each joke the old man cackled his enjoyment.每逢讲完一个笑话，这老人就呵呵笑着表示他的高兴。