Poll: 1 in 5 local election officials say they're likely to leave their jobs before 2024
A voter arrives at a polling location in Arlington during the Virginia governor election on Nov. 2, 2021. Photo: Chen Mengtong/China News Service via Getty Images
Nearly 1 in 5 local election officials say they are likely to leave their jobs before the 2024 presidential election, according to a report out Thursday.
Driving the news: Local election officials cite politicians' attacks on the election system, stress and retirement as the primary reasons they plan to leave, according to the liberal-leaning Brennan Center for Justice.
- A majority of local election officials (77%) say that threats against local election officials have increased in recent years.
- Nearly one in three local election officials say that they know of at least one election worker who has left their job at least in part because of fears for their safety, increased threats or intimidation, according to the survey of about 600 officials.
Yes, but: Most local election officials say they enjoy their jobs and at least 29% are "completely satisfied."
The big picture: Legislators in Colorado, Georgia and other states around the country are introducing bills to protect election workers after a spike in threats following the 2020 election.
Benenson Strategy Group conducted 596 interviews from January 31-February 14, 2022 among local election officials across the country and of all political affiliations. The margin of error for the dataset is +/- 3.95%.