Election official turnover 'emblematic of a larger crisis' ahead of 2024: report

A Pennsylvania county's mass election worker exodus offers a warning of trouble ahead for other states, The Guardian reports.

Per the report, "While the turnover in Luzerne county has been exceptionally high, it is emblematic of a larger crisis facing American elections. Experienced election officials, long underresourced and underpaid, are leaving the profession as they face a wave of threats and harassment, seeded by [ex-President Donald] Trump and allies who have spread the myth that US election results can't be trusted."

The Guardian notes, "With this exodus comes a massive loss of institutional knowledge. The people who know exactly how to proof a ballot, test election machines, or troubleshoot problems on election day won't be there. The result is a toxic cycle, where a lack of experience produces human error, fueling distrust in elections and anger, then pushing election officials to leave."

POLL: Should Trump be allowed to hold office again?

Luzerne County manager Romilda Crocamo said, "There's certain things that we can't control. But what we need to do is make sure that we prepare for everything that we can control. We still hear from people who don't trust the election. And you're not going to get people's trust overnight. We're going to have to have a series of clean elections."

Former county election director, Roberts Morgan told the news outlet, Any wrinkle in an election process is immediately the subject of conspiracy theories. If you experience that level of turnover, there is a concern that you may not be as experienced, and you may not have handled this, or handled something this large, and yes, that doesn't help. That doesn't build confidence."

The Guardian notes, "Public meetings of the election board became more heated in the aftermath of the 2020 election. 'There were no filters for some people. They would immediately assume everybody was incompetent in the process and that sort of stuff because of what had happened in 2020,' said Morgan, who took over in 2021. 'And you know it's tough to operate in an environment like that."

According to the report, "About 20% of local election officials are projected to be working their first presidential election in 2024, according to an April survey by the Brennan Center for Justice. Nearly 70 election directors or assistant directors in 40 of Pennsylvania's 67 counties have left since 2020, according to Al Schmidt, the secretary of state."

READ MORE: You are the man': GOP rep’s 'extraordinary web' of exchanges pushing election reverse revealed

The Guardian's full report is here (subscription required).