Here & Now

George Christenson on Threats Made Against Election Workers

Frederica Freyberg:

A man with a loaded gun demanded to speak with Governor Tony Evers at the Capitol this week. Reports say he was arrested and after posting bail, returned to the building later that night with an assault rifle, again wanting to see the governor. This incident is the latest in a growing trend of threats against government officials, including election workers. A new bipartisan bill aims to up penalties for verbal or physical threats to election officials as their growing frequency since the 2020 elections has lawmakers saying enough. For more, we turn to one such election official who has seen too much of this, Milwaukee County Clerk George Christenson. Thanks very much for being here.

George Christenson:

Thanks for having me.

Frederica Freyberg:

You point out in Milwaukee County, there are more than 200 polling locations and eight municipal governments that process absentee ballots at Central Count. How vulnerable have the election workers been at these locations?

George Christenson:

Well first of all, those Central Count locations, they are visible to the public. That’s part of our democracy is transparency. So people are allowed to come and observe. There’s quite often, especially with the city of Milwaukee, there have been recently incidents where individuals are trying to get closer than they’re allowed, trying to stop the Central Count process, and basically heckling some of the election workers, And I think this is becoming more prevalent and is much more harassing and threatening to our election workers.

Frederica Freyberg:

So you testified in favor of this bill that would up the penalties. That since 2020, shocking instances, you said, of violent behaviors and intimidation have been directed at Milwaukee County election officials. So help our viewers understand the seriousness of this. Like what are examples of this?

George Christenson:

Well, for example, during the 2020 recount, which we ran here in Milwaukee County downtown, I received death threats, and had pictures of guns and comments such as, you know, “How are you going to feel with a bullet in the back of your head?” Of course, we refer those to the officials, to law enforcement, but they’re very difficult to track down because it’s just some coward, probably in another state or somewhere doing something digitally. However, that causes all sorts of issues as far as security and as far as prevention. For example, during that recount, I had to have a sheriff’s deputy stationed at my home during that recount, and that cost money, and that also takes law enforcement off the street. So there’s ramifications of these types of behaviors.

Frederica Freyberg:

Well, absolutely. Are a lot of election officials deciding not to do this anymore because of those kinds of intimidations and threats?

George Christenson:

Certainly, we’ve seen that. If you look at some of the polling locations, quite often a lot of our election workers are senior citizens who absolutely just love our country and want to be part of the process. They’re paid very little to do this, and so it’s really out of a love and service to your country. And certainly if they feel threatened, they’re going to step away, and we have seen that, especially in the city of Milwaukee, for example.

Frederica Freyberg:

What are election officials that work at these polling places in Milwaukee County telling you about what it’s like to be a potential victim of that kind of thing?

George Christenson:

Well, what they’re telling us is that they just don’t feel safe and how are we going to protect them? So, for example, in the courthouse, where my election commission is, my staff doesn’t feel as safe as they used to, so we have to put in additional security barriers. For example, this week, we recently installed panic buttons and we’re looking at putting up more Plexiglas to protect them, which is disappointing. You know, I like to have an open office, but if we have to have some Plexiglas up because we’re afraid someone’s going to try to jump over the counter or shoot somebody, what are we left to do? How do you retain employees if they don’t feel safe?

Frederica Freyberg:

So this bill would make it a class one felony to injure an election official. Do you think that will give the needed additional layer of security to election officials?

George Christenson:

Well, I certainly think it will help. I think you’re always going to have your extremists and your bad actors, but I do think that people will, hopefully, think twice about acting in such a manner because if it’s more of a felony, I think — I hope, anyway, that some people will get that message. This bill has bipartisan support and I think it’s universal, just protecting the safety of our voters and public servants. It really shouldn’t be controversial. It should just be a universal norm.

Frederica Freyberg:

So in terms of the political climate, it doesn’t really seem to have toned down a lot since 2020. What are you girding for in the upcoming elections? I mean, I know you’ve said that you are taking additional security steps, but kind of girding for more of the same?

George Christenson:

Oh, absolutely. Yeah. We are. We’re very concerned. And we’re thankful that the legislature is working to pass something such as this. We need everybody on board. All hands-on deck for this type of activity, because we are nervous. And I do think that proper education and outreach is important to let people know, hey, this is bipartisan. This is not acceptable. You know, election workers are servants, public servants that are trying to help facilitate democracy.

Frederica Freyberg:

All right. We appreciate your work. Milwaukee County Clerk George Christenson, thanks very much.

George Christenson:

Thank you for having me.