By james art The Biden-Harris administration’s Justice Department is deploying district election officials in preparation for Election Day to make sure election officials are able to “do their jobs free of threats and intimidation.”
According to Fox News, election officials will coordinate with the Justice Department’s Election Threats Task Force, which was introduced in June 2021 by Attorney General Merrick Garland and Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco to “address violence against voters workers and ensure that all election workers – whether elected, appointed or volunteer – are able to do their jobs free of threats and intimidation.”
In a Monday press release, the Department of Justice announced officials for this year’s district elections. Election officials, who are selected before each election, are expected to work with the Election Threat Task Force and local, state and federal law enforcement agencies on Election Day.
In the press release, the Justice Department said district election officials “are responsible for overseeing the processing of Election Day complaints about voting rights issues, threats of any kind to officials or election officials, and election fraud, in consultation with the headquarters of the Department of Justice in Washington. The Justice Department added: “The Department will address these violations wherever they occur.”
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Stressing the importance of district election representatives, U.S. Attorney Gerard Karam said, “Every citizen should be able to vote without interference or discrimination and have that vote counted in a fair and free election.” Karam added that election officials and employees they must be able to perform their duties without facing “illegal threats of any kind”.
The Justice Department also touted its “Election Day Program,” claiming it helps maintain “public confidence in the election process” by allowing the American people to report potential violations of election law.
Fox News reported that Garland held a meeting of the Election Threat Task Force last month and warned that the United States had experienced an “unprecedented spike” in threats against election officials following the controversial 2020 election. The outlet noted that nearly two dozen people have been indicted by the Department of Justice for allegedly making threats against election officials since the task force was created in 2021.
“These cases are a warning: If you threaten to harm or kill an election official, official or volunteer, the Department of Justice will find you,” Garland said in September. “And we will hold you accountable.”