On the Side of Caution

This Week in Democracy?

• Donald Trump was the target of “what appears to be an attempted assassination,” according to the FBI. A gunman was arrested in Florida after Secret Service agents spotted him with a rifle near Trump’s golf course.?

“A politically motivated threat or attack against any of us—from candidates, to elected officials, to voters, to election workers—is a threat to our democracy itself,” States United CEO Joanna Lydgate said in a statement .? ?

• In the run-up to Election Day, election officials across the country are taking safety precautions to prepare for an increase in threats. Officials in at least 16 states received suspicious pieces of mail this week, leading to multiple offices being evacuated. The FBI and U.S. Postal Service are investigating.? ?

?? EXPLORE: States United’s public safety resources ? ?

• Our partners at All Voting is Local, the Brennan Center for Justice, Campaign Legal Center, and Protect Democracy released a series of memos outlining the legal guardrails in key states that will ensure the November election results are certified in a timely manner.?

?? EXPLORE: The full resource ? ?

• In-person early voting has started in select states across the country. You can find out when early voting begins in your state at this website from the U.S. Vote Foundation.?

On the Side of Caution?

Law enforcement agencies have a critical role to play in this election season. It’s their responsibility to make sure voters, election officials, and the election process are safe. And they work with state and local officials to make sure all eligible voters continue to feel welcome.???

States United recently rolled out two new resources to help.??

The first is a guide to public safety planning for political events. It’s designed to help law enforcement leaders get ready for the events taking place in their communities, including debates, rallies, and candidate visits. Political events can be scheduled with little lead time, which means public safety plans must come together quickly.?

The second is a roadmap to help election officials build and strengthen their relationships with law enforcement. These partnerships are crucial for safe elections, and the roadmap has practical recommendations as election officials think through security needs.??

Whether you’re in law enforcement, an election official, or just someone who cares about safe and secure elections, we invite you to check out our full library of public safety resources for 2024. ??

State of the States?

In Arizona, Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer filed a lawsuit at the Arizona Supreme Court seeking to clarify how to move forward with preparations for the November election. State officials found and fixed an error in a state database that may have allowed some Arizonans to register to vote in federal and state races without providing proof of citizenship. Richer is asking the Supreme Court to decide how to designate voters previously affected by the error so that the election process can move forward on schedule across the state.?

In Georgia, the State Election Board voted to require counties to count ballots by hand at the close of voting on Election Day, a practice that is significantly slower, more expensive, and less accurate than using ballot-counting machines. The new rule requires that all Election Day ballots be counted three times by hand and compared to the machine-count total, making it likely to impose significant costs and delays. Before the board voted, it was warned by Attorney General Chris Carr that the rule was likely “impermissible” under Georgia law. Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger also warned that the rule was dangerous, saying that “ninety days before an election, you should not institute major changes to the election process.”?

?? READ: The Reality of Full Hand Counts: A Guide for Election Officials ?

In Pennsylvania, the state Supreme Court threw out a lower court’s decision that undated or incorrectly dated mail-in ballots should be counted. The lower court previously ruled that rejecting those ballots violates Pennsylvania’s constitution . Since election officials can independently confirm that ballots are sent and received within the legal voting window—because every mail-in and absentee ballot in Pennsylvania is tracked —a written date serves no purpose, the lower court ruled . The Supreme Court’s ruling means those ballots will not be counted in November, unless the courts intervene again.?

In the News??

• Reuters: Even before election, Trump, allies sue over claims that non-citizens might vote ?

“Lawsuits over non-citizens on voter registration rolls are meritless. But they’re part of a weaponized public relations campaign to erode confidence in elections,” said Dax Goldstein, senior counsel for the nonpartisan States United Democracy Center, which promotes election security and fairness.? ?

• Vanity Fair: How Republicans Are Waging an All-Out Assault on the Election System: “The Whole Thing Can Fall Apart” ? ?

The American election process has thus far withstood the attacks, experts emphasize: “We see a system that has been tried and tested and proven itself to be secure,” says Joanna Lydgate, cofounder and CEO of States United Action, a nonpartisan election law organization. Nevertheless, the effort to gum up the democratic process could make things “extraordinarily difficult” this cycle—especially if the November election is close, as is expected. “The antidemocracy movement is constantly shape-shifting,” Lydgate tells me. “And we have to always respond to that.”? ?

• Democracy Docket: Hundreds of Election Deniers Are on the Ballot in Seven Swing States ?

In the 2020 election, Pennsylvania was one of a handful of states at the center of the Big Lie — the conspiracies spread by Trump and his sycophants falsely alleging that mass election fraud led to his defeat. Since then, more election deniers have been elected to state and local positions. According to a recent report from States United Action, 34% of the state’s 253-person body — 86 elected lawmakers in total — have been identified as election deniers.? ?

• KSDK: ‘A recipe to create chaos and distrust’: Proposal for hand-counted ballots in Missouri met with backlash ? ?

Joanna Lydgate, CEO of States United Action, a nonprofit aimed at protecting election integrity, said in an email: “We've seen this idea floated before, based on the same conspiracies that fuel election denial. But election officials across the country have repeatedly found that counting ballots entirely by hand leads to mistakes. Modern vote-counting systems are secure and accurate. They have to meet strict security requirements to be certified for use in an election. And they reduce human error, fatigue and bias. Hand counts are already an important part of Missouri elections. They're used in a limited way, to double-check that election equipment worked and that votes were counted accurately. Bottom line: Full hand counts would set the stage for confusion, undermine voter confidence and introduce mistakes.”? ?

• The Chronicle of Philanthropy: Can Elections Ever Be Normal Again? These 22 Nonprofit Leaders Have a Plan. ? ?

Joanna Lydgate, States United Democracy Center. Lydgate started the organization — with high-profile names such as former New Jersey Governor Christine Todd Whitman — in response to the 2020 allegations of election fraud. It has pursued litigation and filed bar complaints against Jenna Ellis, John Eastman, and other Trump attorneys who fought to overturn the 2020 results. Lydgate is a former chief deputy attorney general in Massachusetts.? ?

• The New York Times: Trump’s Talk of Prosecution Rattles Election Officials ? ?

• The New York Times: 3 Georgia Women, Caught Up in a Flood of Suspicion About Voting ?

• The Guardian: US election officials ‘look over shoulders more’ as political violence surges ?

• Politico: Former governors urge successors to certify election results ? ?

• NPR: Voters are advised to return their ballots early because of mail delay concerns ? ?

• The Texas Tribune: Travis County sues top Texas officials, accusing them of violating National Voter Registration Act ?

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