Chris Harvey had worked in law enforcement agencies for decades and was an investigator for Georgia's Foreign Minister when he was asked to take over the office of Chief Election officials in 2015. History, ”he returned to the area of law enforcement. He uses what he has learned to help police and election officers prepare for November.
In his new role as deputy director of the Georgia Peace Officer Standard and Training Council, Harvey has implemented training, which describes the obligations and obligations of the law enforcement authorities in accordance with the state's electoral codes. Last month, the Council of Georgia made the first state, which requested such a curriculum as part of mandatory police training.
The controversy that arose during and after the 2020 elections are still alive, and the threats and harassment have increased when the competition from 2024 approaches. A recently carried out survey among the local election officers of the Brennan Center showed that more than half are concerned about the safety of their employees and colleagues. 90 percent have worked to increase security in the past four years.
Harvey is a member of the committee for safe and safe elections (CSE), a group that was created for the development of closer work relationships between the election administrator and law enforcement authorities. He wanted to be sure that the officials in his state were familiar with elections, including the handling of survey observers, self -proclaimed observers and voting officers as well as their limits.
“The worst thing that can happen is that a police officer responds to a scene, does not know what his authority is and not knowing what the laws regulate this incident,” says Harvey. For example, the law of Georgia allows a non -binding, hidden wear of handguns, but it forbids to bring a weapon to a polling station.
The first step to enable a similar training in other countries is to bring the corresponding sections of your election codes together, a project csse and its partners.
An open carrying rally in Texas Capitol. Only about 1 out of 4 states completely prohibit weapons on polling stations. Georgia allows covered wearing of handguns (no permission required), but an apprenticeship that was developed for the police officers in Georgia underlines that the electoral code forbids weapons on polling stations.
(Erich Schlegel/Tns)
Reference leader
The responsibilities of prosecution in relation to elections vary from state to state. For the most part, they are almost unknown to the police. Harvey says he can guarantee that those in his state have never read the laws in the state's code of elections that are specifically for law enforcement.
This was less important before election and election officers under a cloud of distrust were operated. CSSE pocket reference guidelines for every state, which describes the most important punitive provisions in his election laws, distributes the changed situation as resources for law enforcement authorities and election officers alike.
Kathy Bockvar, who worked as Foreign Minister in Pennsylvania during the 2020 election, managed the creation of the leaders and exceeded them with lawyers and state officials. There is still a handful of it, and she expects them to be done at some point in August.
“The demand for these guidelines was phenomenal,” says Boockvar. “Regardless of whether it is law enforcement agencies, election officers, district prosecutors or non -profit organizations, people who become aware of them have wondered whether their state is finished, and if this is not the case, their state can be next. “
Georgia was one of the first countries to have a reference leader, and Harvey sees it as a “textbook” for his course. The international association of directors of the law enforcement agencies and the training asked him for a white book that could help other countries to develop their own training.
CSSE members can also fly in jurisdiction to support training. This is a critical window for this type of activity, says Tina Barton, CSSE VICE Chair. By September, the electoral offices will begin to move entirely to election mode. “We are currently working against the clock and the watch is not our girlfriend,” she says.
Shift scenarios
CSSE's “Five steps for safer elections” can facilitate discussions between election officers and local law enforcement authorities, says Bockvar. This includes guidelines and scenarios for tabletop exercises that give you the opportunity to practice how you would react to events such as threats for election workers or protests that threaten to cook on polling stations or counting rooms. “I wish none of this would be necessary,” says Bockvar.
According to the Barton, new scenarios for these exercises are continuously developed, whereby it is taken into account what is reported in the media or developments on site. “We added to swating, we added in unknown substances,” says Barton. There is a scenario in which a disturbance breaks when a non-citizen is right.
Barton knows what it is like to be traumatized in service. She received numerous threats as city clerk for Rochester Hills, Michigan, in 2020, including one that was serious enough to cause the federal prosecutor to accuse the man who managed to do so. On July 9th, he was sentenced to 14 months in prison to pursue for two years supervised probation.
The fact that CSSE members are available to help with training and tabletop exercises has soothing those who feel vulnerable, says Boockvar. Federal resources are also available, including the Task Force of the FBI election threats. Voting safety consultants are stationed in each of the 10 regions covered by cybersecurity infrastructure and security agency (CISA).
“If people are not in contact with their CISA regional consultants, they should absolutely do what they could influence between now and November,” says Bockvar. “These people can help identify gaps in their security – if they don't know who their CISA representative is, they can contact CSE and we can connect them.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XGHZ1DGGZJU
The sheriff of Maricopa County, Paul Penzone, chairman of the committee for safe and safe elections, offers an overview of his “five steps for safer elections”.
The role of the police can play
Harvey, the officer of Georgia, is aware that the presence of law enforcement agencies on polling stations was not always positive and was sometimes more associated with intimidation of voters than with their certainty. He recognizes that there are also practical limits that prevent the police from being present in every district. “Nobody thinks is a good idea,” he says. “To be honest, there are not enough police officers to do that, even if they wanted.”
However, it makes sense that election officers are more associated with the law enforcement authorities and not only from security issues. Harvey sees many similarities between the two groups.
“They are underestimated, they are not enough of them, people take them for granted and only notice them if they do something wrong,” he says. “The funny thing is that both are fine – they don't want to be in front and in the middle.”
