By james art BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WBMA) – FBI Birmingham has established an Election Command Post in preparation for the November 5 election.
The agency said the command post was part of its standard election day protocol.
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The agency said the command post will be manned 24 hours a day to provide a centralized location to assess election-related threats in the area.
The command post is part of the agency’s efforts to prevent election fraud, voter suppression, foreign malicious influence, malicious cyber activity against election infrastructure and threats to election workers. We are committed to protecting the American public’s right to fair and safe elections.
The FBI takes our responsibility very seriously and works closely with our federal, state and local partners to identify and stop any potential threats to public safety. We collect and analyze intelligence to determine whether people may be motivated to take violent action for any reason, including election concerns.
It is vital that the FBI, our law enforcement partners and the public work together to protect our communities as Americans exercise their right to vote. We encourage the public to remain vigilant and report any suspicious activity to law enforcement immediately. The FBI takes seriously all threats of violence, including threats directed at those who do the critical work of administering free and fair elections in the US
The Justice Department has long recognized that states — not the federal government — are responsible for administering elections, determining the validity of votes and tabulating the results, with challenges decided by the respective election administrators, officials, legislatures and courts. The department’s role is limited to investigating and prosecuting violations of federal election laws and deterring criminal conduct.
FBI Birmingham encourages citizens to report allegations of election fraud and other election abuse to FBI Birmingham directly at 205-326-6166.