Picketed at work, confronted at church: Why election workers have left the job | CyberScoop<\/title> <link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/picketed-at-work-confronted-at-church-why-election-workers-have-left-the-job\/\"> <meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\"> <meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\"> <meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Picketed at work, confronted at church: Why election workers have left the job\"> <meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Election workers facing unprecedented harassment are retiring in huge numbers, posing a threat to the U.S. voting system. \"> <meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/picketed-at-work-confronted-at-church-why-election-workers-have-left-the-job\/\"> <meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"CyberScoop\"> <meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-06-20T17:12:20+00:00\"> <meta property=\"og:image\" 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icon--close\" width=\"21\" height=\"22\" viewBox=\"0 0 21 22\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"m.822.518-.805.805L9.695 11 .017 20.678l.805.805 9.678-9.678 9.677 9.678.806-.805L11.305 11l9.678-9.677-.806-.805-9.677 9.677L.822.518Z\" fill=\"currentColor\" \/><\/svg> <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Close<\/span> <\/button> <\/section>\n<article class=\"single-article content\">\n<div class=\"single-article__container js-single-article-content\">\n<header class=\"single-article__header \" readability=\"25.673870333988\">\n<div class=\"single-article__header-content\" readability=\"30.544715447154\">\n<p> Election workers facing unprecedented harassment are retiring in huge numbers, posing a threat to the U.S. voting system. <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"single-article__cover-wrap\">\n<figure class=\"single-article__cover\"> <img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" fetchpriority=\"high\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/picketed-at-work-confronted-at-church-why-election-workers-have-left-the-job.jpg?resize=640%2C427&ssl=1\" class=\"single-article__cover-image wp-post-image\" alt decoding=\"async\" fetchpriority=\"high\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/picketed-at-work-confronted-at-church-why-election-workers-have-left-the-job-5.jpg 4000w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/picketed-at-work-confronted-at-church-why-election-workers-have-left-the-job-5.jpg?resize=300,200 300w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/picketed-at-work-confronted-at-church-why-election-workers-have-left-the-job-5.jpg?resize=768,512 768w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/picketed-at-work-confronted-at-church-why-election-workers-have-left-the-job-5.jpg?resize=1024,683 1024w, 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https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/picketed-at-work-confronted-at-church-why-election-workers-have-left-the-job-5.jpg?resize=1264,843 1264w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1012px) 100vw, 1012px\"><figcaption> Protesters call for a “forensic audit” of the 2020 presidential election, during a demonstration by a group called Election Integrity Fund and Force, outside of the Michigan State Capitol in Lansing on Oct. 12, 2021. (Photo by JEFF KOWALSKY\/AFP via Getty Images) <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"single-article__content\">\n<div class=\"single-article__content-inner has-drop-cap\"> <html readability=\"151.78126910796\"><body readability=\"305.99418563426\"><\/p>\n<p>Over the course of 20 years as an election administrator in Shasta County, Calif., Cathy Darling Allen oversaw nearly a dozen national election cycles and countless local races.<\/p>\n<p>In February, she decided she\u2019d had enough.<\/p>\n<p>Allen announced she would be retiring, citing the negative impact that the job was having on her health, especially in recent years. In a public letter, she wrote that she had been diagnosed with heart failure and her chances for recovery relied on substantial stress reduction, something that was \u201ca tough ask to balance with election administration in the current environment.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In an interview with CyberScoop, Allen was more blunt about what triggered her decision to leave: \u201cBeing concerned on a daily basis about your own physical safety and the safety of the folks who work for us and the voters who come in to cast their ballots takes a toll.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"ad ad--inline_1 \">\n<div class=\"ad__inner\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Advertisement<\/span> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Allen is not alone in choosing to step down as an election administrator. Across the United States election officials are leaving their posts in droves, citing threats, harassment and acts of violence at levels not seen in decades \u2014 a development that experts caution poses a far greater threat to U.S. elections than malicious hackers or AI-enabled deepfakes. <\/p>\n<p>The persistence of violent intimidation four years after 2020, when then-President Donald Trump falsely claimed to have been the victim of widespread voter fraud, has altered the relationship between election officials and many of his followers. These voters \u2014 many of whom organize and spread misinformation via the internet and social media platforms \u2014 are increasingly willing to confront, berate and challenge the integrity of election officials, including with violent intimidation, like in 2023 when envelopes<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2023\/11\/09\/us\/suspicious-letters-fentanyl-election-offices.html\"> filled with white powder<\/a> were sent to election offices across four different states.<\/p>\n<p>The personnel issues facing election administration is one <a href=\"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/physical-threats-top-election-concerns\/\">federal officials readily acknowledge<\/a>. Jen Easterly, director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, warned the Senate Intelligence Committee last month that the country has seen \u201ca wave of resignations with election officials taking operational experience and institutional knowledge,\u201d while \u201cthose who remain are operating under difficult conditions.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-no-safe-havens-for-election-officials\">No safe havens for election officials<\/h2>\n<p>Last year, Shasta County, a conservative stronghold of California, voted to terminate its existing contract with Dominion Voting Systems, the company that played a central role in conspiracy theories around widespread voter fraud, and rely instead on hand-counted ballots. After state Democrats blocked the move to hand counting, the county spent nearly $1 million to replace their voting systems, putting officials like Allen in the crosshairs of locals convinced that any reliance on electronic voting machines would lead to fraud.<\/p>\n<div class=\"ad ad--inline_1 \">\n<div class=\"ad__inner\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Advertisement<\/span> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Some would follow her to her car after work. Others picketed her office, chanting \u201cwhere is Cathy?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Convinced that the harassment and stress had contributed to her health problems, Allen accelerated her retirement plans. \u201cMy family has sacrificed a lot for me to do this work, which I am very passionate about and very dedicated to, but I\u2019ve had to take a good look at what my priorities are,\u201d she said. \u201cI can\u2019t fight the fight if I\u2019m not alive.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>A former city clerk for Rochester Hills, Mich., Tina Barton knows intimately the fear that lingers from clashes with voters convinced that their local election officials are subverting the vote. <\/p>\n<p>Barton was one of many election officials who had their lives upended in the wake of 2020. Days after the presidential race was called for Joe Biden, she received a phone call from a man who said she and her colleagues had \u201cfrauded out America\u201d from holding a \u201creal election.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>Then he told her to watch her back.<\/p>\n<div class=\"ad ad--inline_1 \">\n<div class=\"ad__inner\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Advertisement<\/span> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>\u201cTen million plus patriots will surround you when you least expect it, and your little infantile Deep State security agency has no time to protect you because they\u2019ll be bought out and we\u2019ll f\u2014ing kill you,\u201d the messenger said.<\/p>\n<p>It wasn\u2019t until earlier this year that the man who made the threat, Carmel, Ind., resident Andrew Nickels, would be indicted and<a href=\"https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/opa\/pr\/man-pleads-guilty-making-threat-michigan-election-worker\"> pleaded guilty<\/a> to making a threatening interstate communication. <\/p>\n<p>Barton has<a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/TinaLBarton\/status\/1762574843755516237\"> said<\/a> she will \u201cnever be able to turn back the clock and go back to living in a sense of peace as I had done prior to this incident.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The past four years have left her isolated, as onetime friends and neighbors have increasingly treated her as a stand-in for their suspicions around elections. She no longer involves herself in extracurricular activities or teams and doesn\u2019t travel nearly as much as she used to for fear of being recognized.<\/p>\n<p>A lifelong Christian, Barton said she now arrives at church right before service starts and leaves soon after it ends to avoid having her fellow parishioners press material into her hand claiming that the election was stolen in one way or another. A place of \u201cpeace and rest\u201d for Barton has become \u201canother place for me to have a confrontation.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"ad ad--inline_1 \">\n<div class=\"ad__inner\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Advertisement<\/span> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>\u201cThat has been a personal, pretty emotional experience for me,\u201d Barton said. <\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-rage-against-the-lying-light\">Rage against the lying light<\/h2>\n<p>As Washington\u2019s secretary of state between 2013 and 2021, Kim Wyman has seen up close how elections have become more heated. If the current era of election hostility began in 2000, when the U.S. Supreme Court intervened to halt the counting of ballots in Florida and make George W. Bush president, 2020 was far worse, with threats becoming more targeted, more personal and with a higher volume directed at election officials. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cSocial media has allowed for a much wider reach for people who are angry at the outcome to reach out and touch election officials six states away,\u201d Wyman said. <\/p>\n<p>Both Allen, a Democrat, and Barton, a Republican, say that online information ecosystems on social media, in chat groups and within far-right circles have played a major part in injecting national political discourse into local policy disputes and coloring debates around election security with conspiratorial hues.<\/p>\n<div class=\"ad ad--inline_1 \">\n<div class=\"ad__inner\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Advertisement<\/span> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>While many experts believe that social media and online communities have contributed to the prevalence of election-related conspiracy theories, it remains difficult to draw a straight line from online discourse to threats against election officials. <\/p>\n<p>Most election-related falsehoods are spread by a disproportionately small group of users, known as supersharers. During the 2020 election, about 80% of fake news on Twitter was disseminated by a small cohort of users, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.science.org\/doi\/10.1126\/science.adl4435\">a study in Science<\/a> published earlier this year. <\/p>\n<p>Some argue that social media algorithms nudge users toward more radical or conspiratorial views, but more recent research suggests that in the aggregate they tend \u201cto offer extreme content predominantly to those who have sought it out,\u201d as a team of leading researchers <a href=\"https:\/\/www.documentcloud.org\/documents\/24740948-misunderstanding-the-harms-of-online-misinformation\">recently argued in Nature<\/a>. <\/p>\n<p>While the consumption and effect of online mis-and-disinformation on the broader population may be overstated, a recent <a href=\"https:\/\/ctc.westpoint.edu\/rising-threats-to-public-officials-a-review-of-10-years-of-federal-data\/\">analysis by researchers at West Point\u2019s Combating Terrorism Center<\/a> found that criminal charges for threatening public officials have ballooned over the past decade, with election workers among the most frequently targeted. <\/p>\n<p>Barton, who has since gone on to work for the federal Election Assistance Commission and the nonprofit Committee for Safe and Secure Elections, said that while national officials tend to receive a disproportionate amount of harassment via social media and email, local officials get much of it \u201cover the counter and through the phone.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"ad ad--inline_1 \">\n<div class=\"ad__inner\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Advertisement<\/span> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Precisely what triggers a person to cross the line from making threats of violence to acting on them is not well understood by science, and effectively teasing out contributing factors around radicalization<a href=\"https:\/\/www.tandfonline.com\/doi\/full\/10.1080\/1057610X.2024.2361942?src\"> continues to be the subject of debate<\/a> among researchers.<\/p>\n<p>According to Steve Sin, a research scientist at the University of Maryland\u2019s National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism, surveys of the public have shown that two emotions in particular tend to be associated with individuals who are more likely to go beyond violent rhetoric into violent acts: a belief that taking action will help lead to a better future and fear that failure to take action will cause societal problems to fester and worsen. <\/p>\n<p>This is particularly true if the individual feels something personally threatens them and their way of life, leading to the \u201cfear that if I don\u2019t do anything, it\u2019s just going to continue to get worse, and if I do something, that it\u2019s going to get better,\u201d Sin said. <\/p>\n<p>Election officials on the receiving end of such threats insist that the internet and social media have played an important role in accelerating instances of harassment and threats toward election workers, priming many voters to see members of their community as avatars of a looming national conspiracy. They receive bursts of phone calls from residents in different states accusing them of failing to prevent voter fraud or actively facilitating it, usually spurred on by a post or blog that went viral in right-wing circles.<\/p>\n<p>Election veterans who spoke to CyberScoop described the COVID-19 pandemic as a turning point in their relationships with their communities. In some towns, the effects of the virus, the policy responses to it and the high-stakes 2020 election acted as an accelerant for confrontations with residents primed to distrust their government and how their vote was being secured.<\/p>\n<div class=\"ad ad--inline_1 \">\n<div class=\"ad__inner\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Advertisement<\/span> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Janine Eveler, a former elections director for Cobb County, Ga., who retired in 2023, said that even before the 2020 election was contested by Trump, the pandemic \u201ccreated a huge problem for staffing and retention\u201d with most of her older employees opting to stay out of the fray to avoid risking infection. After 2020, the level of skepticism she saw from some Cobb County voters increased significantly, as did their willingness to forcefully challenge election outcomes.<\/p>\n<p>All of that added up to a mass of election officials \u201cwho decided this was a good time to leave,\u201d Eveler said. Knowing she was up for retirement in 2023, Eveler tried to hire someone who could be groomed to replace her as elections director when she stepped down. Every time she brought someone on board, they would quit.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt was not comfortable to be around people who were accusing you of fraud and things like that, and you\u2019re trying to convince people you were just trying to do your job,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-the-ties-that-blind\">The ties that blind<\/h2>\n<p>While it\u2019s not always possible to disentangle cause and effect around online misinformation, it is clear to many election officials that the viewpoints voters have encountered online around election fraud are so deeply ingrained that they can override other bonds, like friendship, family and community.<\/p>\n<p>Many report that their personal and family relationships have been irrevocably altered by the experience. Neighbors and friends who once leaned on them as authoritative sources of election information now see them as emissaries of a deep state bent on disenfranchising the country.<\/p>\n<div class=\"ad ad--inline_1 \">\n<div class=\"ad__inner\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Advertisement<\/span> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>The most disheartening exchanges are with direct relatives. Despite lifelong ties, the partisan divide around voter fraud often comes to define interactions with brothers, sisters, cousins, uncles and even parents. Some insist that relatives administering elections are hapless pawns in a larger game or that they are one of the few \u201cgood ones\u201d in an otherwise hopelessly corrupt field.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSome of the most uncomfortable conversations I\u2019ve had were with members of my family,\u201d Eveler said, noting that these interactions can be more caustic because family members \u201care willing to challenge you \u2014 and they don\u2019t hold back.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s frustrating because these people have known you your whole life, they trusted you in the most intimate things in family life, and yet they don\u2019t trust that you\u2019re going to conduct an election accurately,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>Sin said that the human brain \u201cmuch more prefers to have complete information that makes sense to us than having incomplete information that may or may not make sense.\u201d When faced with the contradiction of a trusted family member who is also part of a group they have internally demonized, most people will fall back to a simpler explanation, one that usually aligns with their deeply held ideological beliefs.<\/p>\n<p>In 2021, Wyman visited old family friends in Idaho who had helped the family get their affairs in order after the death of her parents.<\/p>\n<div class=\"ad ad--inline_1 \">\n<div class=\"ad__inner\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Advertisement<\/span> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>\u201cWhen I first got there the first thing my dear friend said to me was \u2018there\u2019s nothing you can say that will convince me otherwise, I know it was stolen,\u2019\u201d Wyman recalled. \u201cAnd I responded with \u2018I\u2019m not going to try, but I\u2019ll answer any questions you have.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Wyman spent two hours in a bar debunking various myths and falsehoods about the election system, about unsecured ballots and dead people voting. By the end, the family friend was willing to listen to what she had to say \u2014 but only after hours of patient discussion with a trusted family friend and a registered Republican.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHad I been a Democratic Secretary of State I\u2019m pretty sure they probably wouldn\u2019t have listened to a word I said,\u201d Wyman said. \u201cThose are the very walls we have to try to figure out how to break down.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>Eveler said she remains happy in her retirement, traveling more and spending time with her grandchildren. She still gets calls from old colleagues asking questions about proper procedures or to get her advice on how to handle administrative matters.<\/p>\n<p>She answers as many as she can because election work \u2014 and the long hours and stress it brings \u2014 was \u201cthe hardest job I\u2019ve ever loved,\u201d and one that continues to be important to the well-being of the country.<\/p>\n<div class=\"ad ad--inline_1 \">\n<div class=\"ad__inner\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Advertisement<\/span> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>\u201cBut I\u2019m glad I\u2019m not in the middle of it anymore,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n<p><\/body> <\/p>\n<footer class=\"single-article__footer\" readability=\"3.1869918699187\">\n<div class=\"author-card\" readability=\"13\">\n<div class=\"author-card__avatar\">\n<figure class=\"author-card__image-wrap\"> <img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"author-card__image\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/picketed-at-work-confronted-at-church-why-election-workers-have-left-the-job-1.jpg?w=640&ssl=1\" alt=\"Derek B. Johnson\"> <\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><h4 class=\"author-card__name\">Written by Derek B. Johnson<\/h4>\n<p> Derek B. Johnson is a reporter at CyberScoop, where his beat includes cybersecurity, elections and the federal government. Prior to that, he has provided award-winning coverage of cybersecurity news across the public and private sectors for various publications since 2017. Derek has a bachelor\u2019s degree in print journalism from Hofstra University in New York and a master\u2019s degree in public policy from George Mason University in Virginia. <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"single-article__tags-container\">\n<h4 class=\"single-article__tags-title\">In This Story<\/h4>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/footer>\n<p> <\/html><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"single-article__ads js-single-article-sidebar\">\n<div class=\"ad ad--sidebar js-single-article-sidebar-5 ad--rightrail_1 \">\n<div class=\"ad__inner\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Advertisement<\/span> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ad ad--sidebar js-single-article-sidebar-4 ad--rightrail_2 \">\n<div class=\"ad__inner\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Advertisement<\/span> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ad ad--sidebar js-single-article-sidebar-3 ad--rightrail_3 \">\n<div class=\"ad__inner\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Advertisement<\/span> <\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/article>\n<div class=\"popular-stories popular-stories--single-post\">\n<div class=\"popular-stories__container\">\n<h2 class=\"popular-stories__title\"> More Scoops <\/h2>\n<div class=\"popular-stories__stories\">\n<div class=\"popular-stories__cards\">\n<article class=\"post-item post-item--popular-stories-cards \" readability=\"20.768604651163\">\n<figure class=\"post-item__thumbnail\"> <a class=\"post-item__thumbnail-link\" href=\"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/current-former-government-cyber-officials-tout-industry-collaboration-advancements\/\" tabindex=\"-1\"> <img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"505\" height=\"337\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/picketed-at-work-confronted-at-church-why-election-workers-have-left-the-job-2.jpg?resize=505%2C337&ssl=1\" class=\"attachment-ratio-16-9-md size-ratio-16-9-md wp-post-image\" alt decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/picketed-at-work-confronted-at-church-why-election-workers-have-left-the-job.webp 1024w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/picketed-at-work-confronted-at-church-why-election-workers-have-left-the-job.webp?resize=300,200 300w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/picketed-at-work-confronted-at-church-why-election-workers-have-left-the-job.webp?resize=768,512 768w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/picketed-at-work-confronted-at-church-why-election-workers-have-left-the-job.webp?resize=600,400 600w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/picketed-at-work-confronted-at-church-why-election-workers-have-left-the-job.webp?resize=252,168 252w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/picketed-at-work-confronted-at-church-why-election-workers-have-left-the-job.webp?resize=505,337 505w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/picketed-at-work-confronted-at-church-why-election-workers-have-left-the-job.webp?resize=1012,675 1012w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 505px) 100vw, 505px\"> <\/a><figcaption class=\"screen-reader-text\"> Jen Easterly testifies during her confirmation hearing before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee on June 10, 2021 in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch\/Getty Images) <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<header class=\"post-item__meta\" readability=\"1.7816593886463\">\n<h3 class=\"post-item__title\"> <a class=\"post-item__title-link\" href=\"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/current-former-government-cyber-officials-tout-industry-collaboration-advancements\/\"> Current, former government cyber officials tout industry collaboration advancements <\/a> <\/h3>\n<p> Information sharing between the private sector and the federal government is providing a leg up when responding to vulnerabilities. <\/p>\n<div class=\"post-item__byline\"> <span class=\"post-item__author\"> <span>By <\/span> <a class=\"post-item__author-link\" href=\"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/author\/tim-starkscyberscoop-com\/\"> Tim Starks <\/a> <\/span> <\/div>\n<p> <\/header>\n<p> <\/article>\n<article class=\"post-item post-item--popular-stories-cards \">\n<figure class=\"post-item__thumbnail\"> <a class=\"post-item__thumbnail-link\" href=\"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/ai-companies-election-transparency\/\" tabindex=\"-1\"> <img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"263\" height=\"168\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/picketed-at-work-confronted-at-church-why-election-workers-have-left-the-job-3.jpg?resize=263%2C168&ssl=1\" class=\"attachment-ratio-16-9-sm size-ratio-16-9-sm wp-post-image\" alt decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/picketed-at-work-confronted-at-church-why-election-workers-have-left-the-job-6.jpg 5736w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/picketed-at-work-confronted-at-church-why-election-workers-have-left-the-job-6.jpg?resize=300,191 300w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/picketed-at-work-confronted-at-church-why-election-workers-have-left-the-job-6.jpg?resize=768,490 768w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/picketed-at-work-confronted-at-church-why-election-workers-have-left-the-job-6.jpg?resize=1024,654 1024w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/picketed-at-work-confronted-at-church-why-election-workers-have-left-the-job-6.jpg?resize=1536,980 1536w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/picketed-at-work-confronted-at-church-why-election-workers-have-left-the-job-6.jpg?resize=2048,1307 2048w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/picketed-at-work-confronted-at-church-why-election-workers-have-left-the-job-6.jpg?resize=600,383 600w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/picketed-at-work-confronted-at-church-why-election-workers-have-left-the-job-6.jpg?resize=263,168 263w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/picketed-at-work-confronted-at-church-why-election-workers-have-left-the-job-6.jpg?resize=528,337 528w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/picketed-at-work-confronted-at-church-why-election-workers-have-left-the-job-6.jpg?resize=1058,675 1058w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/picketed-at-work-confronted-at-church-why-election-workers-have-left-the-job-6.jpg?resize=1321,843 1321w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 263px) 100vw, 263px\"> <\/a><figcaption class=\"screen-reader-text\"> A photo shows a frame of a video generated by a new intelligence artificial tool, dubbed \u201cSora\u201d, unveiled by the company OpenAI, in Paris on February 16, 2024. OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT and image generator DALL-E, said it was testing a text-to-video model called Sora that would allow users to create realistic videos with a simple prompt. (Photo by Stefano RELLANDINI \/ AFP) (Photo by STEFANO RELLANDINI\/AFP via Getty Images) <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<header class=\"post-item__meta\">\n<h3 class=\"post-item__title\"> <a class=\"post-item__title-link\" href=\"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/ai-companies-election-transparency\/\"> AI companies promise to protect our elections. Will they live up to their pledges? <\/a> <\/h3>\n<div class=\"post-item__byline\"> <span class=\"post-item__author\"> <span>By <\/span> <a class=\"post-item__author-link\" href=\"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/author\/derek-johnson\/\"> Derek B. Johnson <\/a> <\/span> <\/div>\n<p> <\/header>\n<p> <\/article>\n<article class=\"post-item post-item--popular-stories-cards \">\n<figure class=\"post-item__thumbnail\"> <a class=\"post-item__thumbnail-link\" href=\"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/election-administrators-ai-house-senate-bill\/\" tabindex=\"-1\"> <img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"252\" height=\"168\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/picketed-at-work-confronted-at-church-why-election-workers-have-left-the-job-4.jpg?resize=252%2C168&ssl=1\" class=\"attachment-ratio-16-9-sm size-ratio-16-9-sm wp-post-image\" alt decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/picketed-at-work-confronted-at-church-why-election-workers-have-left-the-job-7.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/picketed-at-work-confronted-at-church-why-election-workers-have-left-the-job-7.jpg?resize=300,200 300w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/picketed-at-work-confronted-at-church-why-election-workers-have-left-the-job-7.jpg?resize=768,512 768w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/picketed-at-work-confronted-at-church-why-election-workers-have-left-the-job-7.jpg?resize=600,400 600w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/picketed-at-work-confronted-at-church-why-election-workers-have-left-the-job-7.jpg?resize=252,168 252w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/picketed-at-work-confronted-at-church-why-election-workers-have-left-the-job-7.jpg?resize=505,337 505w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/picketed-at-work-confronted-at-church-why-election-workers-have-left-the-job-7.jpg?resize=1012,675 1012w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 252px) 100vw, 252px\"> <\/a><figcaption class=\"screen-reader-text\"> Rep. Chrissy Houlahan (D-Pa.) speaks during a press conference on new legislation at the U.S. Capitol Building on Jan. 27, 2023 in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker\/Getty Images) <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<header class=\"post-item__meta\">\n<h3 class=\"post-item__title\"> <a class=\"post-item__title-link\" href=\"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/election-administrators-ai-house-senate-bill\/\"> Bipartisan House bill aims to prepare election workers for AI <\/a> <\/h3>\n<div class=\"post-item__byline\"> <span class=\"post-item__author\"> <span>By <\/span> <a class=\"post-item__author-link\" href=\"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/author\/matt-bracken\/\"> Matt Bracken <\/a> <\/span> <\/div>\n<p> <\/header>\n<p> <\/article>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> <\/div>\n<p>\n<\/div>\n<p> <\/p>\n<section class=\"latest-podcasts\">\n<h2 class=\"latest-podcasts__title\"> Latest Podcasts\t<\/h2>\n<\/section>\n<div class=\"top-categories\">\n<div class=\"top-categories__container\">\n<h3 class=\"top-categories__category-title\">Government<\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"top-categories__container\">\n<h3 class=\"top-categories__category-title\">Technology<\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"top-categories__container\">\n<h3 class=\"top-categories__category-title\">Geopolitics<\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> <\/main> <\/p>\n<div class=\"ad ad--bottom \">\n<div class=\"ad__inner\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Advertisement<\/span> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"interstitial\" class=\"welcome__container\"> <button id=\"close-modal-1\" class=\"welcome__clickable_area\"><\/button> <\/p>\n<div class=\"welcome__ad_wrapper\">\n<p> <button id=\"close-modal-3\" class=\"welcome__continue-button\">Continue to CyberScoop<\/button> <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>   <\/body> <a href=\"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/picketed-at-work-confronted-at-church-why-election-workers-have-left-the-job\/\">Source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Picketed at work, confronted at church: Why election workers have<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[452,2224,2041,292,506],"tags":[454,2225,2043,298,507],"class_list":["post-4124","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-cybersecurity-and-infrastructure-security-agency-cisa","category-dominion-voting-systems","category-election-assistance-commission","category-election-security","category-workforce","tag-cybersecurity-and-infrastructure-security-agency-cisa","tag-dominion-voting-systems","tag-election-assistance-commission","tag-election-security","tag-workforce"],"featured_image_urls":{"full":"","thumbnail":"","medium":"","medium_large":"","large":"","1536x1536":"","2048x2048":"","chromenews-featured":"","chromenews-large":"","chromenews-medium":""},"author_info":{"display_name":"Cyber Scoop","author_link":"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/author\/cyberscoop\/"},"category_info":"<a href=\"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/category\/cybersecurity-and-infrastructure-security-agency-cisa\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA)<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/category\/dominion-voting-systems\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Dominion Voting Systems<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/category\/election-assistance-commission\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Election Assistance Commission<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/category\/election-security\/\" rel=\"category tag\">election security<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/category\/workforce\/\" rel=\"category tag\">workforce<\/a>","tag_info":"workforce","comment_count":"0","jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4124","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4124"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4124\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4124"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4124"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4124"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}

{"id":4124,"date":"2024-06-20T12:12:20","date_gmt":"2024-06-20T17:12:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/?p=80763"},"modified":"2024-06-20T12:12:20","modified_gmt":"2024-06-20T17:12:20","slug":"picketed-at-work-confronted-at-church-why-election-workers-have-left-the-job","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/2024\/06\/20\/picketed-at-work-confronted-at-church-why-election-workers-have-left-the-job\/","title":{"rendered":"Picketed at work, confronted at church: Why election workers have left the job"},"content":{"rendered":"