Before every election, Roxane Stinson prints out a piece of paper with the phone numbers of state legislators, the Secretary of State's office, and party chairmen. If a voter complains about an election issue, Stinson gives the voter a copy.
“If they make too much noise and say they don't know what we're talking about, we'll hand it to them,” said Stinson, who has been Lubbock County's elections administrator since 2022. That's all,” he said.
And voters are becoming increasingly vocal, Stinson said.
“I've noticed that they're voicing their opinions louder than ever before,” Stinson said. “Sometimes it's hard to explain to them that they can't go beyond election law.”
Election officials in Texas and across the country face intense scrutiny, intimidation and harassment.
Election researchers say these threats are one of several reasons why election worker turnover has been steadily increasing. The turnover rate for election officials nationwide increased from 28% in 2004 to 39% in 2022, according to a report released Tuesday by the Bipartisan Policy Center. Turnover is defined as the change in election managers in a jurisdiction since the November general election, which was held for the first time in four years. Before. Other factors contributing to higher turnover include an aging workforce, increased demands on workers, and increased threats, the report said.
[They counted primary ballots by hand. Now a Texas county Republican party says they found errors.]
In Texas, the turnover rate increased dramatically from 28% in 2004 to 44% in 2008. It then dropped to 30% in 2012 before rising again to 40%. This attrition rate has remained stable since 2016 and is slightly above the national average.
The high turnover rate has some election observers worried that future elections will be more challenging and voters' confidence in the electoral process will decline. The organization behind the report emphasized that 65% of election administrators have experience running presidential elections. They advise state governments to better pay election workers and develop strong succession plans to reduce the need for organizational knowledge.
Stinson considers himself lucky in Lubbock County and says he has been spared serious threats to his safety. But she knows of colleagues in other counties who were ousted by her hostile supporters after falsely claiming that election officials rigged the presidential election against Donald Trump.
For example, in Tarrant County, Texas' largest and most populous swing county, Haider Garcia, a respected election official, resigned in 2023. He faced death threats stemming from lies about the 2020 election results. There was significant pressure from the county's top elected officials, who suggested there was widespread voter fraud in 2020. Mr. Hyder is currently in charge of elections for Dallas County.
And in Gillespie County, all election staff resigned in 2022 as workers battled fringe election conspiracy theories that began before Trump's loss in the 2020 election.
“The harassment is endless,” said David Becker, founder of a nonpartisan nonprofit focused on elections called the Center for Election Innovation and Research. “It's not just when they're in the office or during election time. It might be when they go to church, go shopping, or pick up their kids from school. Election workers are exhausted. ”
Becker said his nonprofit founded the Legal Advocacy Network, which provides free legal services to election officials who resolve legal issues. A few years ago, Becker says, such a service wouldn't have been necessary. Now he calls it a lifeline.
Policy and societal changes are making the job of election workers more demanding without wage compensation, the report said. Cyber threats and disinformation are becoming increasingly prevalent, forcing election officials to become information and technology experts. Policy changes also force workers to adapt to changes in legal rules, often with little notice.
In Texas, lawmakers passed sweeping voting legislation in 2021 that includes a number of changes to elections. The law banned drive-through voting and 24-hour polling places, increased penalties for voting crimes, and increased protections for poll watchers. Additionally, identity verification requirements were added to mail-in voting, leading to widespread confusion and large numbers of rejected votes.
It took just a few months for election officials to understand and enforce the law. It also suddenly requires an increased workforce of workers to process mail-in ballot applications and answer questions from voters to ensure they meet new identification requirements. It became.
Most recently, lawmakers passed Senate Bill 924, expanding the number of required Election Day polling locations in about 90 counties and allowing voters to vote at any polling location countywide. The law left Stinson and other election officials scrambling to open new polling places and find staff to operate them. Mr. Stinson said he was unable to find enough workers to staff each location in November, and he fears he will not be able to find enough workers ahead of this year's general election. are doing.
“A lot of our employees are getting older,” Stinson said. “Some people are no longer working because of the economic situation, and some have had to go back to full-time work.”
An aging workforce is leading to high turnover among election workers. According to a survey of local election officials conducted by the Congressional Research Service, about 63% of election officials were over 50 years old in 2008, but that number jumped to 74% in 2020.
Despite the high turnover rate, election offices are ready to conduct the 2024 presidential election, said Rachel Ory, one of the co-authors of the turnover report. About 65% of local election officials have experience running presidential elections, and new election officials have an average of eight years of past election experience.
“It's easy for people to make it seem like we're in a crisis, but the fact is, our people are ready,” Oley said.
They added that both the federal and state governments should provide more funding to election workers so they can hire adequate workers and offer competitive salaries. Mr. Oly recommended that the federal government provide $400 million a year. Congress recently passed legislation appropriating $55 million in funding.
This article originally appeared in the Texas Tribune (https://www.texatribune.org/2024/04/09/election-administrator-turnover-rates-increases/).
The Texas Tribune is a nonpartisan, member-supported news outlet that informs and engages Texans about Texas politics and policy. For more information, visit texastribune.org.
