Justice Department vows crackdown on election-related threats

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: Politico

05/13/2024 04:29 PM EDT


Top Justice Department leaders promised Monday to respond swiftly to threats against officials overseeing this year’s elections and to combat the increasing use of sophisticated technology to disguise the origins of any disruptions.

With a close-fought presidential campaign looming in November, high-ranking federal officials convened at DOJ headquarters to warn that threats of violence related to the election will be pursued aggressively and prosecutors will seek extra punishment in cases involving artificial intelligence and other digital advances.

“If you threaten to harm or kill an election worker, volunteer or official, the Justice Department will find you and we will hold you accountable,” Attorney General Merrick Garland told reporters at the outset of the meeting. “The public servants who administer our elections must be able to do their jobs without fearing for their sanity or their families. We will aggressively investigate and prosecute those who threaten election workers.”

Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco, who is overseeing the Justice Department’s response to AI, said emerging technologies are increasingly involved in efforts to intimidate pollworkers and others who manage elections.

Read more: https://www.politico.com/news/2024/05/13/justice-department-election-threat-technology-00157686

[BaronChocula]

1. Likely tone deaf fox response

Last edited Tue May 14, 2024, 03:03 PM - Edit history (1)

Joe Biden is using the U.S. government to openly threaten republican voters!!!

I would love to see them inadvertently throw their own ilk under the bus.

[AverageOldGuy]

2. Voting official intimidation is well underway

I'm a long-time member of the Electoral Board in a small, rural, very Republican Virginia county that voted over 70% for Trump in 2016 and 2020.

The Board is responsible for overseeing all operations of the General Registrar as well as managing all elections.

For the past two months our Registrar has received 3-4 emails per week with detailed questions about our voting equipment -- manufacturer, model numbers, how they are tested, how equipment is stored, are passwords encrypted, and on and on and on -- similar questions about our procedures. The identical messages are going to most/all other Registrars in the state.

The senders of the email use different names but the texts are identical.

We and our Registrar are wasting a lot of time answering these, many of which take the form of FOIA requests.

Some folks in the county also have told us that they are being approached by people they don't know asking if they are willing to serve as "election observers" at the polls. Thankfully, all those reporting to us have turned down the offer.