Local election officials say the Biden administration needs to do more to keep them safe
Local election officials want the Biden administration to do more to keep them safe, but federal officials say fighting disinformation is often hampered by free speech concerns.
Local election officials want help from the Biden administration to fight disinformation about voting. So far, help has been scarce.
Fear of interfering with free speech has hindered the government’s effort to squelch false rumors, some of them spread by Donald Trump. Meanwhile, local election officials receive constant threats.
Election officials across the country are calling on the Biden administration to do more to keep them safe ahead of the November presidential election, but Biden administration officials say their ability to combat disinformation around elections is often hampered by free speech considerations.
Across the country, disinformation spread online and by the former president has prompted threats to the safety of election officials and forced many to look for new work. In South Carolina, for example, 70% of election directors have left their jobs since the 2020 election. Election officials in Washington state say they have been sent fentanyl in the mail. And in Philadelphia, city commissioners, who run elections, have received threats every year since the 2020 election.
City Commissioner Omar Sabir in Philadelphia on June 23, 2021.Linda So / ReutersMost recently, Chairman Omar Sabir received an email from someone telling him that there will be unidentified monitors at Philadelphia’s election centers making sure everyone is legally allowed to vote.
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