About the Initiative
The American Bar Association Section of State and Local Government Law (SLG) has created a new initiative, Defending Democracy, which focuses on state and local election administrators and their work as they defend and ensure our democratic process on the frontlines, kicked off at the 2022 ABA Annual Meeting.
Election administrators do not have easy jobs, under normal circumstances, and now, especially in current times, we see a disturbing trend to excoriate and threaten the physical safety of election administrators and their families if the outcome of an election does not have a desired result. Recently, the Brennan Center for Justice and the Pew Charitable Trusts have published reports and findings that these threats are also impacting the ability of our elections to run smoothly due to attrition resulting from these threats and verbal abuse.
These election workers are our boots on the ground, simply doing their jobs to ensure that our democracy remains vibrant and successful. The hallmark of our democracy is that voters should be able to cast their ballots freely and without fear of reprisal. Accordingly, a similar courtesy must be extended to election administrators. Unfounded attacks on our election administrators only serve to denigrate and cast aspersions on the integrity of our electoral process and must not be allowed to continue.
Thus, our goals are to:
- Educate the public about the important role that election workers play in ensuring that our voting process works best for all our citizens when public safety can be ensured;
- Promote an understanding that the average election worker is non-partisan when carrying out their work;
- Promote the integrity of and public trust in our electoral process;
- Ensure adequate protection and a sense of security for election workers who are on the frontlines of our democracy.
Defending Democracy was created to support everyday frontline workers for democracy. State and local election administrators and workers have toiled for years in anonymity, in the furtherance of our democratic society. Any attacks on our fundamental right to vote and any action that places our voting process in harm’s way by impugning the integrity or public perception of our electoral process must be fully addressed.
It is crucial that now, as we are seeing growing and unprecedented attacks on our election officials and workers—some permanent employees of state, local or territorial governments, others that are temporary employees, and some who work as volunteers—that SLG and the American Bar Association be seen as supporting them and the rule of law in our electoral process.
