ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Top election officials from six battleground states gathered here Thursday for a day-long briefing with reporters to discuss their aspirations and fears for the Nov. 5 general election.
I came to listen and learn a lot. I had three questions:
What are they most concerned about this election? Are they worried that local officials in their states will delay or refuse to certify the results? When do they expect states to make informal announcements about the winner of the presidential election?
Officials in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin had three different answers to the first question, and their answers were clearly intertwined around the issue of disinformation about American elections being spread by some politicians who are on the ballot.
Misinformation about the election eroded voter confidence
Arizona’s elections chief, Lisa Marra, said there was a lack of trust in the electoral process, especially among unaware voters who had been exposed to misinformation.
“Misinformation, disinformation, distrust in the system. They just don’t want to take the time to learn all the details of the system and check the balances, the safeguards, the elections,” Mara said when I asked her about her biggest concerns at a “Votes and Battlegrounds” event hosted by the nonpartisan group Keep Our Republic.
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Pennsylvania Secretary of State Al Schmitt expressed frustration that voters were being “taken advantage of” by politicians who were “seeking to undermine confidence” in elections.
“Voters have been exposed to so much misinformation and disinformation over the past few years that it appears to be undermining confidence in the election results,” he said.
Election lies leave a dangerous legacy
Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger is committed to a fast and accurate count ahead of the Nov. 5 general election, but his biggest concern is security.
“Obviously, safety is our No. 1 concern, but also the physical security of our precincts, the physical security of our county elections offices and the safety of all of our poll workers,” he said.
For nearly a decade, one politician and his party (Donald Trump and the Republican Party) have spread lies about elections and poll workers, which has had dangerous implications for some people who are willing to accept the misinformation.
Raffensperger said quicker results “gives less time for conspiracy theories to start spreading.”
Jonathan Breiter, chairman of the Michigan State Elections Board, also expressed concern about conducting safe and secure elections free from harassment and intimidation, given the current situation, which he said is “a lot of uproar and misinformation.”
Election officials are experiencing a worrying turnover.
Karen Brinson Bell, North Carolina’s elections chief, said personnel changes were her biggest concern. For the first time this year, 34 election officials will be overseeing the presidential election in the state’s 100 counties.
The constant lying, slander, threats and intimidation could get election officials removed from their jobs.
“One of the things we’ve really been focused on is the fact that there’s been a fair bit of personnel turnover in North Carolina and how to make sure that our veteran election officials are prepared,” she said.
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Wisconsin’s elections chief, Megan Wolf, said she was “concerned about the future of the election industry.”
“We’ve seen that there are a lot of claims about our elections that are not based in fact. No matter how well we administer our elections, no matter how many legal challenges and audits and recounts we withstand, there are still groups that will seek to disparage our electoral process based on things that are not based in reality,” Wolf said.
States are ready to fight stalling tactics
Three of the six states – Pennsylvania, Arizona and North Carolina – cited recent elections in which local officials tried to delay certification.
All six have made clear that their legal teams are prepared to drag stubborn officials to court and force them to comply with state election laws.
“There were several instances where several county commissioners and one state commissioner did not vote to certify the election, but it still required a majority or more than a majority vote to certify,” Brinson Bell said.
“State law and the Constitution are clear that the certification process cannot be used to delay or interfere with election results that you don’t like,” Brater said.
Mara said he hopes Arizona “will not have the same issues we had in 2022 when counties refused to certify the election results.”
The closer the race gets, the longer it will take to see results.
Each state conducts its elections according to its own laws. Some states allow early processing of mail-in or absentee ballots, while others don’t allow it until polling places are open on Election Day.
Therefore, availability of results may vary.
Most officials said they expect results to be available the morning after Election Day, if work isn’t completed the night before.
Wolf said he expects Wisconsin to see fewer absentee ballots this year, a type of voting that has surged during the pandemic, which could speed up the counting process, but he cautioned to always prioritize “accuracy over speed.”
Everyone agreed: the closer the race, the longer it takes to declare a winner.
“When we’ll know for sure will depend on how close the election is,” Blatter told me.
That means it’s unlikely anyone will go to sleep on November 5th not knowing who will be the next president. And as the votes are counted, liars will be busy filling the void with disinformation.
Be patient. Reject the nonsense. Know that professionals aim for accuracy, no matter how long it takes.
Follow USA TODAY elections columnist Chris Brennan on X (formerly Twitter): @ByChrisBrennan