In 2020, election officials faced the challenge of protecting voters from a deadly virus. This year, they prepared for the evil that could come from humans.

Just before the general election, the Committee for Safe and Secure Elections (CSSE). launched a seriesof public service announcement (PSA) videos for use by election officials, law enforcement, community groups and others working to promote confidence in elections. They are designed to remind the public that safe elections are essential to democracy, that election workers take their jobs seriously – and that there are sanctions for electoral violence and intimidation.

Within 10 days of launch, the eight CSSE PSAs were viewed more than a million times only on his YouTube channel. Paid video placements are also part of the campaign. They are already shared by law enforcement agencies and others, says CSSE Fellow Lawrence Norden, who directs the Brennan Center’s Program on Elections and Governance.

The CSSE was established in 2022 by current and former election officials and law enforcement officers to build cooperation and mutual understanding between these sectors. The coalition also includes non-partisan election experts from non-governmental organizations.

One of its major contributions to election security is the creation of pocket reference guides for each state that highlights provisions in their state laws that define criminal behavior around elections. Before the CSSE began this work, few officers were aware of these violations.

In parallel with the compilation of the guidelines, CSSE members provided consultation and training exercises that brought together election officials and local law enforcement to determine how they would cooperate in scenarios where police support might be needed.

The time for this work has passed. Now the CSSE is reinforcing its messages to the public, stressing the need for smooth and peaceful elections.

Reducing harmful rhetoric

“Threats against election officials and their families are something we expect in war-torn countries, not in America,” says U.S. Air Force Brigadier General Marty France (ret.) in his segment. France is a member Homeland Security Leaders for America (NSL4A), a group of nearly 750 individuals who have held senior management positions in the military, national security agencies and government.

NSL4A advocates for “positions, values, and elected officials that strengthen the United States as a democratic nation.” He put out a call to members who might want to be part of the CSSE campaign.

France responded, worried that continued attacks on the 2020 results and pre-emptive challenges to the 2024 result were setting the stage for trouble. Furthermore, he was motivated by the testimony he had seen from several election workers and the intimidation and threats they had faced.

says France Governance is troubled by the reluctance of some government leaders to vocally defend public servants and election officials in particular. Anyone in government service should support everyone else in government service, he says, whether it’s a postman, an election official or troops on the ground.

“I don’t want those who put their careers and lives on the line as election officials to feel threatened in any way,” France says. “I hope I can help reduce the rhetoric.”

What is political violence?

Political violence has increased since 2016, says Nathan Stock of the Carter Center. It’s not just physical attacks, which are very rare. Political violence also includes threats to public officials and election workers and demonization of people because of their identity. The problem has deep roots in American history, he says. “Think back to the violence of the Klan. Lynchings are clearly a form of political violence,” he says.

Polls commissioned by the Carter Center show that 85 percent of Americans oppose any form of political violence, Stock says. Elected officials and media figures, as well as the general public, need to be reminded that the vast majority of Americans reject violence, he says.

The people most likely to commit political violence are not rabid partisans, says Rachel Kleinfelda senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. There are people who have problems with impulse control, are hot-headed and react quickly. No clear reason has been established for a July assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump or a September the incident occurred before a shot was fired.

Norden is most worried about what might happen after Election Day. Polls suggest the election will be close and it will likely be several days before the final results are in. “I think the problem of disinformation during that time will be very big,” he says. As false information from candidates, campaigns, conspiracy theorists, and foreign governments floods social media, the chances increase that someone will be triggered and take violent action.

The electoral community was unprepared for the vitriol and threats that came at it in 2020, Norden says. The difference in 2024 is years of planning and preparation.

Raising the rule of law

Efforts by election deniers to gain positions within the state and local election infrastructure have received considerable attention. But CSSE is far from the only group work to support election officials. Federal, state and local government entities have all offered courses tailored to the current electoral landscape.

The civil society infrastructure that exists to help the country go through elections peacefully is orders of magnitude larger, better organized and better equipped than it was four years ago, Stock says. “We may see attempts to challenge the completion or certification of the results,” he says. “The project I lead has teams in six states working across the political aisle with Democrats, Republicans, and independents to defeat exactly those threats.”

The non-profit organization Issue One, which helps fund the distribution of CSSE PSAs, has its own public information campaign, Faces of democracywhich includes videos of election officials. “We’ve seen militias organizing online and in communities,” says Carah Ong Whaley, director of election protection at Issue One. “We have particular concerns following Helene (witnesses reported armed groups threatening aid workers).”

One of the main things Whaley is doing at this stage of the election is coordinating an election communications center made up of more than 80 organizations, including the Brennan and Carter Center. “We all collaborate, fill in the blanks, share information and are able to respond to issues that arise,” she says.

When the actions of bad actors become more visible than the work election officials do to keep things free and safe, there’s a risk that people will be stopped or intimidated, Whaley says. But, she says, “we want to be seen for trying to strengthen the rule of law.”