The Sunday Story: Election workers under siege
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This is the sunday story I I jasko before I became host of weekend edition sunday. And this show I worked as a political report, are covering the White house. And you know, when I was covering trap, I went to a really Greenville, north CarOlina.

A this was twenty nineteen. IT was almost like a rock concert, or like the sporting of that, like the music was so love and like you, like you could feel IT like in your chest shaking. People were getting worked up and you could feel IT in the atmosphere.

And so by the time that trumps started talking and hutches, the school.

the four congress women always in that love.

this was a group of lawmakers, all women of color, who at the time they were new, the congress and trump had tweet that they should go back to where they came from. Of course, these were all americans.

And or people .

start yelling trader and all these in cindi things and then they started chanting.

IT was really so real. I was like one of the only black people sitting in the stadium with hundreds of people, and they're talking about sending this black lawmaker back to where he cook came from. I mean, IT was hopeful.

IT was scary. You know that this was the way that a lot of americans were feeling, and I was intense. That moment really drove home to me how worked up and angry people can become about politics. Now i'm joined by my colleague, investigative reporter Chris. Aren't you've been talking to people dealing with a similar kind of anger?

Yeah, absolutely. And the type of anger that you are experiencing that first of all, just sounds awful. I'm sorry you had to go through that and the other reporters there had to experience that too. And IT is kind of like, you know, wow, IT, is this even happening because like you said, that I mean is just like so intense.

And when I think about about that kind of anger and I think a lot of americans, what most people have seen is what was going on at the capital in january six, right, that sort seed into everybodies memory and consciousness, sly people scaling the walls and fighting with the police. And that was, you know, intense and violent. And what I found is that that anger hasn't gone away.

You know, that that IT IT keeps cropping up in cities and towns all over the place. And and it's being fed by this ongoing big lie that the election was stone from donor trump and that misplaced animosity. Now all these people outraged about that even though what's not true is being focused on local election officials and election workers all around the country who are just trying to do their jobs and conduct elections.

I mean so anything because I remember when you know around the time that trump loss um and there was the senate run off in georgia were there were these stories about election workers who were getting targeted and they were getting death threats and some I think some people had to like leave their homes and all the stuff right there were people like .

crying in a congressional hearing talking about like how painful that was and that was the Spark of this reporting project for me right? Because I mean targeting election officials like that that first all is just so over the line and it's just you can be republican, democratic, dependent ever, but you know, people got a vote and it's a threat to a functioning democracy, right? And I wanted to know, okay, well, how much is is this still going on?

Yeah and you found that IT really still is going on and IT is really bad.

Yeah, we reached out to thousands of election workers and and officials all over the country. I was able to obtain email less for people, which is kind of tRicky because people don't want to be targeted and found because of all this craziness to some degree. But we heard back from workers and officials across twenty two different states, you know, we were able to reach everybody, and they were saying across all these different states, they've been targeted with threats, or they said they felt unsafe doing their jobs.

IT seems like this certainly has to do with the steady stream of misinformation. A danny trump to to this day is still lying and saying that the election was stolen.

exactly. Yeah and and it's not just tama and know there's these other conspiracy theory people kind of enabling all of this too where they go around the country is this guy set casual and doctor Frank and they have different people. They give speeches and now they all claim they have absolute proof that the twenty twenty election was stolen from Donald trump. And of course, there is no proof.

Your story starts in one of the states where you heard from election workers on the coast of orion, right?

right? And it's called coos county. It's actually beautiful there. It's it's on the organ code. This like huge Douglas for trees all over, and like steep hillsides and these winding roads through all that. I used to be a big time timber industry country. A lot of those jobs have have gone away with environmental controls and stuff, but know it's also it's oregon cy, get a mix of pretty liberal, outdoorsy people live in right alongside sides and much more conservative folks who work in agriculture or fishing or there are temple jobs too. And so, uh, the story starts at the local county elections office this past mid term al election, where things were getting pretty intense.

We would have people in this hallway trying to take pictures of everything we're doing with their phones. You know.

this is D. D. Murphy were hearing from SHE was the county clerk at the time and he says local people, apparently just on misinformation, were camped out inside the building day .

after day and some of them were very mean, even though a .

couple of years before trump, p. One in this county with fifty nine percent of the vote, marthy and the other election workers say people would still Young in their faces about voter fraud. Now, Murphy, she's pretty tough.

SHE worked for the county for more than thirty years in both the elections office and the da s. Office before for that. So SHE seen a lot. And to her, SHE wasn't scared so much as he just felt. A lot of this was kind of weird and ridiculous.

But I had one woman, he said, you're wicked woman. You you're doing awful things in there with the ballots. And I wanted to know that jesus is watching you. And all I could think of to say was, thank you. Jesus is watching you too.

Still official set up metal detectors at the entrance to the building, and over about a month, a security guard's stopped people from bringing a total of twenty guns and sixty knives or other weapons inside. And beyond that, some of the altercations were really frightening.

No, on emergency. Hi guess, I work with the in court office I am currently trying to pick up.

During the general election last year, county worker called nine one one four times in a single day as he was driving around collecting ballot from job boxes. He says a woman in a big jeep gladiator truck was following him, video taping him at each drop box. He says he was armed with a handgun on her belt. He doesn't want to use his name, but remembers that one drop box.

I see the jeep dieter turn around the corner and drive very quickly down the road, and then slam on the brakes and skin to a stop just past me. And then SHE leaned out of the car and looked at me, and you'll you .

can trade after that, he says the woman tailgated him right on his bumper, driving erratically, sometimes serving around next to him. This is on roads in this rural organ county with steep hillsides, no guard rails, big logging trucks roar past you in the other direction.

I was terrified the swarming around my car, just like I don't think I ve ever been more terrified while driving, and I was worried that I might not make IT off that road more .

than two years after january six, that Donald trumps lie that he won the election is alive and well. In a large chunk of the republican party conspiracy, there is two or the country speaking at events claiming that elections are rigged and the misinformation about voter fraud endangering the people whose job IT is to conduct elections. N, P, R obtained contact information for thousands of local election workers and attempted to reach them, workers and officials across twenty two different states told npr that they've received threats, are felt unsafe doing their jobs.

I actually bring a weapon with me every day to work.

This is Nancy born, the director of elections in columbus, georgia.

We also have security here at this building, who sounds even crazy to say this, but walks me to and from my car.

We spoke to other election workers in georgia and Virginia who agreed to talk about what the'd been going through if we didn't use their names. Many are afraid of being further targeted. We have a lot of just general use.

You're trying to read the election. You all be assumed yourself. They said that they were coming for my family and somebody would have to pay for this.

I talk to an official and arizona who says, this past midship election, someone threatened to murder him and his children. The FBI arrested that person. Here's another official in a southern state who didn't want to use her name.

The threat was specifically that the following week that I would not be alive, my home address was made public online. And then my dog was poisoned. Her dog was poisoned.

IT barely survived still, this is real violence and death threats over absolutely nothing real. There is just no evidence of widespread voter fraud lawsuit alleging raud have been thrown at court by judges all over the country. These election officials are just trying to do their job.

The republicans, democrats, independence, they're all dealing with this, and it's everyone. From top state officials to lower level county workers who handle ballots, or even senior citizen volunteers. David becker heads up the nonprofit center for election innovation and research.

Election officials have been under siege. They've been threatened, abuse and arrest for nearly three years now.

and it's getting worse. Many election officials say they need more resources to pay for Better security. We have to do outreach to fight them. This information, recent survey from the nonprofit brand in center, found that nearly one in three election workers say that they're had to deal with harassment, abuse or threats. S, I had almost half worry about the safety of their colleagues in future elections.

I am very nervous about next year, about the presidential year.

I'm nerves about what .

like back in and in the worker who says he was chased in his car and his wife both work in the local elections office, so they've both been dealing with all this also, while having her first daily SHE was nine months pregnant this past election.

During that time, I was scared and I didn't need to feel safe at home either.

He also doesn't want to use her name. He says the couple was followed home from work. They say election denier people knocked on the neighbors doors asking questions about like other election workers that epr talk to. The couples now set up a motion sensitive flood light in a security camera.

My bike was stolen on election day. I cannot tell you if that was one of these people or night. My bike star has not been found.

That was our our garbage hands. We're gone through. There was garbage taken out and male stream across their yard.

Oh, you mean like in a cop show or something where they, like go through the government?

Yeah, yeah. Just like that then.

IT was this mix of ridiculousness, along with things that were more serious in one post on truth social related to drop boxes in the county, somebody is suggested blowing their legs off IT wasn't clear if if that meant drop boxes or election workers, but violent sounding social media posts like that, we're scary. And the couple doesn't think the community here realizes what they've been going through with the election's .

office felt like we're under attack, concept phone calls in people coming in and making accusations and yelling at us. And IT felt very much like they were just harassing us, like they were just there to intimidate us. And we were reaching out to the share of office.

So they were walking us to and from the building in any time we stepped out of the door, people were filming us. And at one point, as the share was leaving, as outsides people were recording and laughing like that, so funny that we are so scared that we added at the share of work is out. That was just really crazy.

absolutely inexcusable, that that would happen.

John sweet is a cuz county commissioner. He is eighty three years old, and he's a republican who does not leave in the voter fraud conspiracy theories. He says IT was hard to watch in here about local people doing all this to county election workers.

You know, it's a form of really a bit of more activity in a way, you know that the mob takes on a personality of its own that's probably different in the prevalent personality of individual members of the mob. I don't think I was unique to our account was A A national thing.

Everybody remembers the spectacle of the mob at the capital on january six. But course, those people came from somewhere and they went back home, where some of them, outside of the national spotlight are Carrying on the fight. And that's what's been happening here.

In cuz county road, Taylor runs a local serving supply business. He was arrested for a curfew violation after the riot on january six than D. C.

I heated an administration era. Michael flin, to go home and make a difference there. And so we started a citizens group here in cues county called citizens restoring liberty, and we continue to meet weekly.

County officials say IT was members of that citizens restoring liberty group who were camped in the hallways of the election's office. The group is worried about supposed voter fraud and also government regulation of guns, masks and public schools. Its members have run its candidates for local government, and schoolboy ds. Taylor himself and for county commissioner, is speaking ahead last year's election on the local conservative talk radio shows.

You know what, i'm proud to have been there. January six, right? Yeah, was a peaceful gathering on the six. You know, people are happy, man. IT was, I mean, there was an page, but IT was like, IT was like a joyful outrage.

January six was quite Violet. Five people died in connection with the riot, and police officials say one hundred and forty officers suffered injuries. Some were struck in the head with metal polls, pushed down stairs and trapped by the rioters. On the talk show, Taylor said he went into the building very briefly, though he says he did not participate in the violence, but despite their concerns about voter fraud this past mid term election, when the votes were counted, rod Taylor, narrow ly won, a result does not dispute, and he is now a cuz county commissioner. You're listening .

to the sunday story when we come back, Chris visits rod Taylor in his new office.

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We're back with the sunday story.

There's no window in here. unfortunate. I wish I had a little bit outside light.

But rod Taylor, showing me around his new county office wearing a gun on his belt, got a scripture reading at the day and his desk and american flag trump, one sign when you talk to Taylor, or he does seem to really believe the voter fraud d conspiracy step.

Look, Chris, the fact of the matter is that we have problems in our election system organ.

There is no evidence of that. A lawsuit making vogue allegations of voter fraud account was thrown out by a judge. But some of the people who travel the country peddling election flood conspiracy theory have comed organ. And Taylor talks about attending their events.

We saw a doctor, Frank in roseburg. He's talking about .

Douglas Frank, who promote these conspiracy theory and who had his phone seized by the FBI last year. But we wanted to ask my Taylor, does he think it's okay that local election workers here in his own county feel threatened just doing their jobs? Did you realize that there are election workers here in the county who fear for their safety because of this?

Yeah, of course, i'm aware of that.

But taya lor says he never threatened election workers himself and he's not responsible for IT.

The fact the matter is when you've got a large group of people, it's sometimes like herding cats and you cannot control what individuals do. So um unfortunately, we did have some people who I think uh engaged election staff in unproductive ways that I would not have advocated for and I still don't condone.

My biggest worry is that people aren't gonna want to do the job anymore.

Over at the election's office, Julie. Becky is the new county clerk. She's trying to figure out how to avoid a repeat of last year in the upcoming presidential race. Already, one election worker has resigned.

It's an important job, and the people that work in this office take IT very seriously, and they like their job. And if their harassed constantly and made to look like villains, then eventually that way on people. I don't want to lose good people over harassment based on misinformation.

For their part, law enforcement officials say IT can .

be difficult to intervene in the this.

the the election worker, who says he was chased while collecting ballots, says he was told by police that since no officer saw this person driving radially, there was nothing they could do.

And unfortunately, the person has been falling me over all over the county is here filing from across the street? okay? They're not doing anything illegal by filling you.

I, I, I am, I am aware OK. They have tried to run me off the road and a little tired. K, the county .

shares department says the incident was investigated, though apparently nothing resulted from that. After we published the story on our website, the woman who was following the election worker in the deep good or pickup truck set on a local talk radio show that he was not Carrying a gun. We should also note that we try to reach her repeatedly while reporting this story, but he never responded. The sheriff game for breeza says there were also complaints from voters who felt harassed, threatened to drop boxes. But he says nothing rose to the level that law enforcement decided that they could do much about.

We want to make sure that .

first moment rights.

the freedom of speech, is protected.

So threats we take .

definitely seriously .

and will go investigate them.

And but at the same time, I got to baLanced off of, people can say whatever they .

want around the country. People are trying to find solutions. Elections officials met a few weeks ago in washington, D.

C, to share strategies. Some states are passing laws to try to help right now. Donald chop, the election denial alist in chief, is the G O P front runner in the next presidential election. But that's more than a year away. So state, federal and local governments do have time to try to come up with ways to lower the temperature and key election workers safe if they don't wait till the last minute.

That's in pr cries. Aren't ld increases back with me? Now you said that there is still time for solutions. What are some of those solutions?

Well, we talk in the story about some states are passing laws and and what some of those are doing is is increasing the penalties for threatening election workers and also to let election workers and and officials keep their homework, dress private and their personal information private. So it's harder for some person, especially from outside the town, to you know start sending scary stuff for column home and tell them them they're going to do horrible things to their family, you know, just to kind create more of a buffer. And at the federal level is also a bill in the senate that would provide granted to help local elections offices kind of beef up their security and and do more training.

IT sounds complicated because, you know, like the share was talking about, there's free speech and people get to say what they want but at the same time, like, you know, how do they determine like what's a threat and what's somebody just spouting off?

You can say whatever you want. You know there is a point where IT becomes a threat of its specific and does cross the line. And i've talked to the justice department about all this and they've started a task force and they've ve never received reports more than two thousand incidents of hostility, harassment, abuse or threats to election workers, they say, and the fact is that most of those don't meet the threshold ld of an unlawful threat of violence. It's more in the free speech room, but some do and so far they've charged where a dozen people with crimes which might not sound like a lap, but that's a dozen people federal criminal prosecutions. And we should say to that, that local authorities prosecute more cases on on top of that.

And what's happening in cuse county, has there been any progress here? Well.

kinder, you know the county clerk says they're been improving the physical security to the office, and that's important. They plan for grants to do more that they're also working with the share of who we heard and and coming up with the plan for twenty twenty four. And the election worker said that the share of actually being great and also taking this really seriously and making them feel much safer and they're very grateful for that. And to be honest, look, I mean, there does seem to be plenty of discord still in the county. I I want to leave you with this town hall meeting that I went to when I was out there.

Thank you. So the county holds .

these meetings for local residents to talk to the county commissioners about whatever concerns they might have at all and to connect with the community. And you I use our country is so politically and culturally divided right now too. I didn't take long for things to get a little off the wall, but this local resident, D. D. Peterson, who's been there for like five generations of her family in in this county, SHE, was looking for some, some common ground.

What I want to see is this community thrive. So even when we disagree, doesn't we can sit down in a room like this and talk about IT in night hate. It's not team red versus team blue.

We have to see through the middle. We have to see what's best for our community. IT IT makes my heart to listen to people being mean and ugly. And when is one of the most beautiful places i've never lived?

And that's that.

So you know, you should the election .

workers in town, and i'm sure across the country are certainly hoping for more that kind of perspective as we had into the upcoming presidential election cry.

Thank you so much for reporting on a very serious topic.

absolute asia.

This episode of the sunday story was produced by magg Anderson and Justin, and with help from Henry Hardy, edited by Robert little and sheet, an engineer with Maggie lutha. The sunday's story team includes Andrew mambo and Emily silver. Our supervising producer is leona simpson's and our executive producers.

I ran a gucci we'd love to hear from you. Send us an email at the sunday story at epr dorg and I shares go up first, will be back tomorrow with all the new you need to start a week. Until then, have a great rest of your weekend.

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