The IT Nerd

Here’s what election staffers can do right now to block potential attackers from uncovering who they are

Byline: Dimitri Shelest, CEO and founder, Onerep

Jan. 6, 2021 is a day mother-and-daughter Georgia poll workers Ruby Freeman and Wandrea Moss will never live down. 

As a mob was attempting to disrupt Congress’s official declaration of Joe Biden as the winner of the 2020 presidential election, about 640 miles away, Freeman and Moss’s home was being stormed by an equally-incensed, if somewhat smaller, crowd. 

Freeman and Moss had already been through a month of harassment and menacing calls after a video falsely claiming the poll workers purposely mishandled ballots on Election Day began to be heavily circulated across the web.

The Capitol’s location is public and well known. But the Freemans’ Atlanta-area home should have been comparatively anonymous. Of course, finding even the most private, least-known individual’s’ personally identifiable information — their home and work addresses, their cell phone number, their family members, their social security information — is barely a Google search away these days.

“I’ve lost my name and I’ve lost my reputation,” said Freeman in her blistering testimony in June 2022 before a House of Representatives committee investigating the Jan. 6 unrest at the Capitol. 

While the Freemans have won their days in court — and settled with some of their other tormentors — their experience and other similar forms of harassment have raised fear among the people charged with upholding election integrity.

Thousands of election officials and staffers have endured similar hostility in the last four years. Arizona Republican State House Speaker Rusty Bowers was met with relentless protests at his home, some of whom arrived armed. Georgia’s Republican Chief of State Gabriel Sterling, who oversaw the state’s election integrity, received images of a noose and accusations of treason. His colleague, Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, reported that protesters invaded his daughter-in-law’s home and threatened his wife.

About 11% of current election officials said they are “very or somewhat likely to leave” their posts before the 2024 general election, according to a survey from the Brennan Center, which noted that 1-in-5 poll workers know someone who left their election job due to threats against their safety. Meanwhile, women, who comprise about 80% of election administrators, are at a greater risk of attacks and harassment, according to a study by the Voting Rights Lab.

These incidents against unsung public servants show how many innocent civilians could be at risk of having their personal information weaponized by political partisans. But there are clear steps that all of us can take to diminish the threats.

How did we get here? Even the most experienced internet users are often in the dark about how seemingly “private” information can be gleaned by those with malicious intent to pressure them over otherwise innocuous, politically impartial activity. 

Specialty websites like VoterRecords.com and various data brokers expose personal and political information, allowing for easy access to comprehensive individual profiles (for a relatively nominal fee, of course). That access has simplified targeted attacks and undermined the common belief in the confidentiality of voter registration and preferences.

Partisans Are Sharpening The Weapons: Your Info

As Election Day on November 5 draws near, traditional forms of civic engagement like peaceful protests and writing to editors or legislators are considered outdated or ineffectual by a growing cohort of self-appointed “election defenders.” 

An increasing number of partisans believe that to ensure their vote counts, they must actively fight for their cause. Election workers, perceived as hostile, are targeted through the malicious use of their personal information.

Although these armchair info detectives tend to act alone, their methods can often miss the intended, if still undeserving, target and hit another. Anyone with a name and location close to matching an election staffer could find themselves in a partisan’s virtual crosshairs.

Practical Steps for Protection

It’s always possible to scrub personal information from the web, but there are several proactive steps individuals on the election frontlines can take to guard their privacy right away:

• Opt-Out of People Search Sites: Regularly remove your data from websites like Whitepages, Spokeo, and BeenVerified to minimize your digital footprint.
• Shine Light On The Dark Web: Use services like credit monitor Experian, which can provide a “scan” of  your information and alert you if private details about you are  being traded on the “dark web,” a common venue for doxxing and harassment.
• Enhance Social Media Privacy Settings: Tightly control who has access to your personal information on social media platforms, sharing details sparingly.
• Use a PO Box and Google Voice Number: Shield your real address and phone number from public records by using alternative services for mail and calls.
• Secure Your Voter Registration Details: In some states, you can make your voter registration confidential, especially if your profession or situation demands higher privacy levels.
• Regularly Monitor and Secure Your Online Presence: Employ tools like Google Alerts to keep tabs on mentions of your name and update your passwords and security settings frequently.

Since 2020, 14 states have introduced laws to safeguard election officials and poll workers, with measures varying across the board, a study by the National Conference of State Legislatures noted in Dec. 2023. Ten of those states now penalize intimidation and interference against these workers through potential jail time and fines. 

Maine mandates de-escalation training for election staff, while Arizona, California, Oregon, and Washington offer them inclusion in address confidentiality programs. Washington additionally takes a stand against cyber harassment, highlighting a growing recognition of the need to protect those at the forefront of upholding democratic processes.

These legal protections are encouraging. They add some sharp teeth to previously weak laws designed to curtail these kinds of cyber attacks against election administrators and staffers. But they won’t deter the most committed — and dangerous — partisans from hunting down vulnerable civil servants. When it comes to real prevention, the people who ensure  our voting rights must take on the job of protecting themselves before becoming a potential victim.