Why local officials are feeling 'on edge' as election day approaches

Al Schmidt, a Republican who serves as Pennsylvania's secretary of the commonwealth and top voting official, is preparing for the November 3 midterm elections with memories of 2020 still fresh. That year he was the only Republican on Philadelphia's three-member election board, and he publicly vouched for the honesty of a slow count of more than 370,000 mail ballots. The city normally handled 13,000 or 14,000 absentee ballots. His work drew insults from then-President Donald Trump and threats from the president's supporters, according to NPR.

Schmidt told NPR's Dave Davies that state law still bars counties from beginning to process mail ballots until 7 a.m. on Election Day, while other states start days or weeks earlier. In 2020 that meant in-person results arrived first, followed by waves of mail tallies that steadily narrowed Trump's lead. As the count went on, Schmidt said, the threats grew more specific, naming his children and listing his home address, along with graphic descriptions of violence.

Schmidt said his family was relocated and that police guarded them around the clock for months, even on walks, sledding trips and holidays. He praised the Philadelphia Police Department. Pennsylvania is again a key battleground, with four competitive House contests.

Summarized by PolitiKool from NPR’s reporting. Read the full story at NPR →