DALLAS — The threats are real.
And elections administrators across Texas and the rest of the nation are taking them seriously and preparing for worst case scenarios.
“There are counties that have made panic buttons that poll workers can hit. There are counties that have outfitted every polling location with a smartphone, so they have immediate access to like a central hotline,” Jessica Huseman told us on Y’all-itics.
Jessica Huseman is the editorial director of Votebeat, a nonprofit news organization that reports on elections across the country. The potential for political violence is a topic Votebeat has covered extensively.
Law enforcement and security experts are prepared for anything.
Huseman thinks there are going to be isolated incidents. And it might not necessarily be outright violence, but chaos can accomplish the same thing.
“And so, that puts a lot of pressure on poll workers to sort that out because they’re the ones who are there, who are sort of overseeing the voting process. And so, if something happens at the polls, they’re the ones who have to deal with it because county election administrators may not even be on the scene,” Huseman said.
Because they’re on the front lines, many poll workers have also received training on conflict resolution and de-escalation.
As for timing, election day on Nov. 5 is being watched closely, and not just because so many people will at the polls at the same time on one day.
“A lot of important things happen on that day because for a lot of states, that’s the day they start counting. That’s the day they start announcing results. And so, that’s really when emotions start to fly,” explained Huseman.
It’s not just the polls.
Those locations where ballots are counted will also be closely watched. There were many incidents in 2020 and 2022 in which counting was disrupted, or chaos engulfed a location. And Huseman says that is a bigger worry for many elections officials.
But there is something different this year working in their favor.
Election workers are simply more prepared, and the idea of potential violence and chaos is no longer just a thought exercise.
“So, while yes, I think that the tension and the language has been ramped up pretty significantly even from 2020 to this year, I think that the people who are responsible for protecting the people doing the thing are much more prepared than they were in 2020,” Huseman told us. “You can prevent something you’re prepared for.”
It’s not just Texas. States across the country are each taking different steps to address the potential of political violence. And it also helps to understand how our modern era compares to other moments in the arc of American history. Listen to the entire episode to learn more.
