Strengthening State Laws to Protect Elections & State Public Officials
Free and fair elections are the foundation of a healthy democracy.
In the United States, our elections are run at the state and local level, with processes that vary slightly from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. Laws that protect elections are also different from state to state.
In addition to our work to protect election officials from threats and intimidation, Public Citizen is working around the country to pass or strengthen statutes that safeguard voting systems and improve official audits that double-check election results. Here are our priorities:
- State laws should protect voting systems from tampering and unauthorized access.
- Even after the election, voted ballots should be protected from tampering or unauthorized destruction, so they can be used for post-election audits and recounts.
- Election offices and election security should be adequately funded.
- States should have robust post-election audit processes. Audits of the vote counts should be completed before election results are certified; and audits should be open to public observation.
- Recount laws should provide a meaningful opportunity to correct any possible election errors; and the public should be able to observe the recount process.
- Absentee ballots should never be returned over the internet given current technology; technologies that allow the voters who cannot vote by mail to verify a paper ballot remotely before it is cast should be pursued instead.
- State and local governments and the court system have become a vital backstop against erosion of the rule of law overall and against attacks on our federalized election system; protections passed for election officials should be extended to include state, local and court officials not already covered.
Updating State Laws to Protect Public Officials
Violence and threats against public servants is a growing problem, affecting people in every state and at all levels of government. Democratic and Republican officials are threatened at almost equal rates. Any public servant can become a target – including elections workers, school board members, judges and emergency dispatchers. Their family members are also being targeted.
All this is changing the way that public officials serve their constituents. Almost three-quarters of local officials surveyed report that the threat environment is changing the way they serve the public: more than 40% say they are less willing to run for reelection; 43% say they are less willing to participate in public events; 62% are less willing to use social media to share information.
Building on our past work to protect elections officials, Public Citizen is now working across state lines to strengthen legal protections against harassment, threats and violence for all public officials.