Drones, snipers, barbed wire, sniffer dogs, bulletproof vests, bulletproof glass and 24-hour armed security.
This is not a list of protections in place for a visit by the president of the United States or the contents of a shipment to frontline troops fighting in Ukraine. This is a list of security measures that election officials in counties across the United States have had to implement ahead of Tuesday’s vote as a result of the unprecedented threats they have faced in recent years.
Officials are implementing the typical final measures to ensure the smooth running of an election, but beyond checking that they have enough ballots and that the machines are working properly, officials are now faced with the need to monitor threats and make sure they have done everything. can to protect themselves and their staff.
“Given the current political environment, the possibility of an event occurring has increased and our election professionals have responded in kind,” says Tammy Patrick, a former election official for Maricopa County in Arizona and now senior advisor for the nonprofit profit Bolstering Elections Initiative. “Efforts focused on the physical security of voters, poll workers and staff by installing bulletproof glass, panic buttons, razor wire and fencing are quite common, as are the installation of cameras and systems surveillance, cyber protections and security training. -Climbing techniques and response drills.
Nowhere in the United States is the militarization of the electoral process more evident than in Maricopa County.
The county, which is the fourth-largest county in the country, became ground zero for election-denying plotters in recent years after Republican lawmakers approved a false recount in 2021, run by the company Cyber. Florida Ninjas.
As a result, Maricopa has been implementing increased security measures for years. “We are a fortress now,” Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer told WIRED in February, describing how he had to navigate security fences, metal detectors and security checkpoints to gain entry to his office.
As the 2024 elections approach, the measures Maricopa officials are implementing have ramped up significantly.
Officials have now added a second layer of security fencing to protect election offices as well as concrete k railsmeaning poll workers will be bussed from outside locations due to reduced parking spaces. At the country’s tabulation center, each door will be equipped with metal detectors, floodlights will be installed and, on Election Day, the center will be protected by a ring of snipers deployed on rooftops around the building, election officials said. NBC.