Poll worker safety top of mind as Election Day nears

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WSYX) — For more than a year now, the WSYX investigative team has been looking into threats against the estimated 35,000 election workers set to work the polls in the Buckeye State -- and around the U.S. -- on Nov. 5.

For months, the state has been working to not only recruit those workers, but ensure they are safe while on the job. However, more steps are being put in place to make sure the day runs smoothly.

At Columbus Alternative High School Tuesday, young students got hands-on experience learning how to operate voting machines. The group is a part of a crop of new poll workers set to be on the front lines on Election Day.

With the threats many Ohio poll workers have already faced from election deniers, these student will not have an easy job despite its importance.

In a prior interview with WSYX, Aaron Ockerman, the head of the Ohio Association of Election Officials, outlined changes like bulletproof glass and added security at elections offices across the state.

I think there's a heightened awareness of the need to protect elections officials," Ockerman said. "Threats against elections officials are a real thing. We can't put our heads in the sand and pretend that's not happening.

Enhanced security forces remain on alert around the Ohio Secretary of State's office, as they have since it received threatening letters in the mail in mid-September that invoked the anthrax scare of the early 2000s. Frank LaRose was one of at least 16 election officials to be targeted with threatening messaging , something the FBI continues to investigate.

This issue of safety and security has been top of mind since election denial turned violent in the wake of the 2020 election. The Columbus City Council passed an ordinance back in 2022 ahead of the midterm election that year criminalizing the harassment, intimidation, or abuse of poll workers.

As the new poll workers from Columbus Alternative High School set up to work Election Day, they are not only learning lessons about democracy, but also the hard work that goes into keeping elections safe and secure.