Officials certifying the 2024 election say they are better prepared than in 2020

One of those scenarios: a stick of dynamite fell into a ballot box.

“You have to figure out what do I need to know, what do I need to do, what do voters need to know and what do they need to do,” said Carolina Lopez, executive director of the partnership. She applauded the response of officials in Washington state and Oregon, who realized the extent of the damage and quickly relayed information to voters.

Other organizations of election officials have conducted similar exercises — not only to respond to burning ballot boxes, but also to address a number of other potential risks that could arise before, during and after Election Day.

At this point, after four years of sowing distrust and hostility toward the election system by Donald Trump and his movement, administrators are concerned about everything from physical attacks on voting infrastructure and threats at polling places to disinformation and foreign interference.

As many voters grow increasingly concerned about the strength of the election system, officials exuded calm and confidence that their quiet preparations have allowed them to be ready for anything.

“The volatile things that people are experiencing — they are very real, we are not going to tolerate them, but we are also going to set the tone that we are vigilant,” said Lisa Posthumus Lyons, the Republican clerk of Kent County, Michigan. “We have prepared for the worst and expect the best.”

Those involved in preparing for the 2024 elections noted that the scale of the preparatory work is unprecedented.

“Elections are something we took for granted. It happened. There wasn’t really much focus on a safety plan,” said Justin Smith, a retired sheriff of Larimer County, Colorado, citing efforts in recent years. “There is more preparation and planning than ever before. So while I’m concerned, I’m definitely also cautiously optimistic that a lot of good preparations have been made as well.

He serves on the Committee for Safe and Secure Elections, a national organization formed after the 2020 election and includes election administration and law enforcement experts from across the political spectrum who promote policies to protect voters and election workers from violence, threats and intimidation.

Smith estimated that over the past two years they have done about 150 presentations and tabletop exercises in 40 states.

“I think we simply got caught flat-footed in 2020 and I don’t think that’s the case now,” Smith said.

In a study last winter of 928 local election officials through the Brennan Center for Justicea nonpartisan law and policy institute, 92 percent said they have taken steps since 2020 to increase security for voters, election workers and election infrastructure. This included 40 percent who said they had increased physical security at polling places or election offices.

“Additional staff will be added. There will be more deputies on site and they will be able to respond quickly,” said Scott McDonell, who as county clerk is the chief election official in Dane County, Wisconsin.

He prefers not to be present at the polling stations, which could be intimidating. But it is part of the new reality of elections in the United States, and McDonell said that in Dane County, home to the state capital of Madison, there have been meetings with law enforcement to ensure it is clearly understood that election officials have the legal right to have to remove people who cause a nuisance or pose a potential threat.

“I think maybe their attitude in 2020 was, we don’t want to get involved,” said McDonell, who is also a member of the Commission on Safe and Secure Elections. “They’ve adjusted their thinking accordingly and said, ‘Hey, we have to protect people’s right to vote and you can’t disrupt the polling place.’ ”

Several high-profile incidents have underscored the need for that shift since 2020, when Trump stoked widespread election distrust on the right by baselessly claiming fraud and spreading conspiracy theories.

Days after the 2020 election, Republicans streamed into the Detroit convention center where Wayne County officials were counting votes, banging on windows and demanding they “stop the count” after being told the observation room was full. The workers continued with their duties, but the event was an early example of the need for greater security at previously sleepy research sites.

Ahead of the 2022 election, two members of a far-right militia group were captured on camera in full tactical gear at a polling location in Mesa, Arizona, sparking widespread concern and the attention of federal law enforcement.

Besides the burning of ballot boxes in the Pacific Northwest, there have been other isolated cases of trouble this fall.

The FBI and Postal Service are investigating packages containing a suspicious white powder sent to election offices in at least 16 states in Septemberwhich caused some evacuations, according to ABC News. One of the packages was headed to the Massachusetts elections department in Boston before it was intercepted by the FBI outside the building before it was delivered.

The powder has not been found to be dangerous; one package, sent to an election office in Oklahoma, was determined to be flour. White powder incidents are one of the scenarios the Commission for Secure Elections has trained in dealing with election officials.

Election officials are also preparing for how to handle tensions at the polls, which could flare at the end of a close and bitter presidential race. At an early voting location in San Antonio on October 24a 69 year old election worker was allegedly attacked by a man who was asked to remove his MAGA hat because wearing such political gear at a polling place violates state election laws. The 63-year-old voter was arrested and charged with injury to an elderly person.

That recent history has led to a number of major and minor changes that election officials in battleground states are making to aid the process and, they hope, deter any threats.

At the central elections office in Maricopa County, Ariz. – a hotbed of election conspiracies Armed guards patrol the complex, which now features high fencing around the grounds and metal detectors inside.

A number of less prominent jurisdictions are also taking proactive measures.

In Kent County, Michigan — a swing county in a key swing state — Lyons, the clerk, said officials have taken new measures to prevent tampering with election equipment and have trained poll workers in de-escalation tactics. They also moved their vote counting location to the county courthouse, which allows for greater security for workers and materials, as well as a larger crowd of observers.

“The bottom line is that voters’ rights will be protected and votes will be counted,” Lyons said. “We’re just going to make it a fun day.”

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Sam Brodey can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him @sambrodey. Jim Puzzanghera can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him @JimPuzzanghera.