Threats to voting

Don’t forget to check relevant contingency plans that may already be in place!

• Remind voters of their voting rights and what measures are in place to make voting safe and secure. Share specifics about how you keep polling locations safe.
• Promote alternate voting methods. Encourage voters to make a plan to vote early or consider voting by mail.
• Address fears with the facts. Show that you care about voter safety and understand how voters might be feeling. Recognize what is known and what remains uncertain.
• Provide clear ways to report issues to local election officials about targeted interference or safety concerns.
• Exercise your authority to protect and enable voters to participate in democracy through security protocols, contingency plans, and relationships with law enforcement.
• Consistently communicate new information as it becomes available to keep the media and voters informed. Be transparent about what’s happening and how the LEO is addressing the issue. Share the contingencies and protocols in place to address these roadblocks and show how your office is prepared.

Use a tone that is:

• Calm: Choose words that are clear and factual rather than emotional.
• Serious: Convey that you or others are managing the situation.
• Supportive: Offer trusted resources and other voting options.

• Coordinate with adjacent jurisdictions and the state to develop a communications strategy and unified messaging for emergency situations.
• Build relationships with trusted partners (television and radio stations, community organizations, policing agencies, etc.). During a crisis, rely on them to help you disseminate accurate information and get ahead of any false narratives.
• Develop an "Incident Response Plan" for addressing what happens when issues arise that affect voter safety and participation.
• Encourage voters to vote early when able.
• Educate voters on all the ways they can vote so they can choose what feels safest to them.
• Run through scenarios on what your team will do if threats occur.

• Center for Civic Design
  • Gun Safety Signage Templates
• The Elections Group
  • 10 things to do when the media comes calling
  • De-Escalation Posters and Pocket Guides
  • How to Write an Elections Press Release

Non-social media messaging ideas

• Encourage in-person voters to use a buddy system and go to the polls with family or friends.
• Consider creating a phone bank of pre-recorded messages to send to voters if necessary. The bank can be shared with local call centers.
• Prepare blank official signage to add handwritten or printed-on-demand messages as needed. Use our Signage toolkit.