Vermont, Maine and Washington are considering laws to increase protection for election workers. Reuters found 850 threats and hostile messages to U.S. election officials and workers. Nearly all planted their threats in former President Donald Trump’s big lie that the election was stolen. The proposed laws would respect free speech protections but bring state laws more in concert with federal laws that make it easier to prosecute in case of violent threats. (Reuters, January 24, 2022, by Peger Eisler)
The Election Official Legal Defense Network debuted September 7 to provide free nonpartisan legal services to any election worker. Colorado, Arizona, Michigan and Georgia have seen Trump followers threaten state and local election officials and workers and their families with violence and death. (The New York Times, September 18, 2021, by Michael Wines)