STRENGTHENED PHYSICAL SECURITY measures at polling stations, massive cyber response, FBI command posts in major centres and National Guard call ups are all part of major efforts to protect the US election.
Across America there are reports in local media and on official Government websites of various measures being taken. The most robust measures are focused on the counting of the ballots.
The most noticeable is the calling up of some elements of the National Guard in the State of Washington, located in the northwest of the country. Task and Purpose, a military focused website also said that Governors in Nevada and Oregon are set to put some soldiers on standby should they be needed.
The US National Guard is a volunteer reserve military force generally called up by State Governors in times of crisis.
Each state oversees its own voting process, and in a great deal of scenarios the measures being taken are also state-specific.
The United States generally adopts a different security approach to Ireland and often employs hugely robust measures when threats are identified.
One example of that is in Maricopa County, Arizona where an election official has reported that he is now wearing a bulletproof vest due to credible threats against him.
This was the location for Donald Trump and his allies in their effort in 2020 to try and stop vote counting.
Hundreds of Trump supporters protested outside of the county’s tabulation centre, or count centre, as ballots were still being counted. His efforts did not succeed.
Reports on several news sites show that the count centre in Phoenix has received a physical security makeover and that there is a team monitoring social media traffic to detect any gathering protests.
Officials will also deploy drone surveillance to help police monitor potential threats.
There are also plans to post snipers to counter any would be attacks during the counting process in the city.
In an article on security preparations the Washington Post said that while there are extensive security preparations it is hoped that none of it will be needed.
Much of the security will be provided by State police forces but also local police forces.
On a federal footing the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has said it is setting up Election Command Posts at State centres.
“The command post will be staffed 24 hours a day to provide a centralised location for assessing election-related threats in our area of responsibility.
“The FBI has a duty to plan for a host of potential scenarios related to election fraud, voter suppression, foreign malign influence, malicious cyber activity against election infrastructure, and threats to election workers. We are committed to protecting the American public’s right to a fair and safe election,” the statement said.
The US Department of Justice has set up an Election Threats Task Force “to identify and address reported threats targeting election workers”.
The FBI statement added: “The Justice Department has long recognised that the states—not the federal government—are responsible for administering elections, determining the validity of votes, and tabulating the results, with challenges handled by the appropriate 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.”
The Justice Department has said in a statement that it is to “monitor compliance with federal voting rights laws in 86 jurisdictions in 27 states for the Nov. 5 general election”.
“The Justice Department enforces federal voting rights laws that protect the rights of all eligible citizens to access the ballot. The department regularly deploys its staff to monitor for compliance with federal civil rights laws in elections in communities all across the country,” it said.
It is also advising anyone who witnesses disruptions at a polling place to report it first to local election officials.
It said any complaints related to violence, threats of violence or intimidation at a polling place should be reported immediately to local police.
The department said it would investigate those complaints after it is dealt with by law enforcement officers.
In a joint statement on Friday the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), the FBI, and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) spoke about their measures to combat Russian disinformation and hybrid threats.
One such incident was a fake video which “falsely depicted individuals claiming to be from Haiti and voting illegally in multiple counties in Georgia”.
The agencies blamed “Russian influence actors” for the incident – there was also a second false video purporting to show a person affiliated with the Democratic election ticket of accepting a bribe.
“In the lead up to election day and in the weeks and months after, the IC [intelligence community] expects Russia to create and release additional media content that seeks to undermine trust in the integrity of the election and divide Americans,” the statement added.
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