(WIFR) – Nearly a week away from Nov. 5, some Illinois election workers are keeping up with the steady stream of early voters, but with a few extra precautions.

Illinois State Board of Elections Public Information Officer Matt Dietrich says the 2020 election has left some Americans feeling skeptical about the integrity of our polling places; an issue that can turn ugly in an election as tense as this one. That’s why he says poll workers receive special training to help them deal with a situation where a voter or poll watcher gets out of control.

“What election judges are basically taught to do is defuse,” says Dietrich. “They’ve heard all these things, they’ve seen all these allegations on social media. It’s your job to reach out and listen to their concerns.”

Across the country, polling stations are taking security to new heights, from heavy police presence to closed streets. In Coloradocounty officials are said to have installed bulletproof glass and purchased bulletproof vests.

Illinois State Board of Elections Public Information Officer Matt Dietrich says the 2020 election has left some Americans feeling skeptical about the integrity of our polling places; an issue that can turn ugly in an election as tense as this one. That’s why he says poll workers receive special training to help them deal with a situation where a voter or poll watcher gets out of control.

“If Boone County feels that we want to give election workers that extra assurance that if something came up that they could call someone to come and deal with it, then that’s Boone County’s right to do that.”

While de-escalation is always the first option, according to Dietrich, he says there are times when it’s not an option. But, he adds, there is no reason to believe that emergency measures will need to be taken on election day; it’s better to be safe than sorry.

“In the last instance, the county clerk might be called, the law enforcement might be called, the electoral judges have the authority to dismiss, to remove the observers from the polling station if they are disruptive, it is the same for voters. that comes in,” explains Dietrich.

A report from Pew Research Center finds that 90 percent of Harris supporters and 57 percent of Trump supporters are confident the election will go smoothly.

As of this morning, Dietrich says more than 1.4 million Illinoisans have cast their ballots, with more than 850,000 of them the result of early voting.

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