'Structural rage': Female election officials routinely subjected to 'disgusting' threats

20 April 2024

Women who run elections across the country have lately been at the center of a wave of misogynistic threats from the far right due to their profession.

The Guardian reported recently that in numerous states, female election officials have had to contend with violent threats — both verbal and written — that they say are specifically worded in a way to make them feel "vulnerable and unsafe." Kathy Broockvar, who was Pennsylvania's Secretary of the Commonwealth (the Keystone State's top elections official) between 2019 and 2021, said the vast bulk of threats she received were either rooted in misogyny or anti-Semitism.

“‘C—’ and ‘w—’ played a bigger role in every threatening communication that I ever got,” Broockvar told the Guardian. “[There’s] not even really equivalent male-gendered words. It was a constant, constant use of those words. ‘Die, communist w—’, ‘c—’, ‘b—’, ‘burn in hell, b—’, ‘you crooked f—g b—’ were certainly very common."

“And then, with the antisemitic stuff, they would add in, ‘hook-nose b—’, ‘frizzy-haired c—’,” she added. “Look at the history of how women are made to feel vulnerable, particularly by men who want to provide evidence of their power. That’s what they do. They will use disgusting obscenities, graphic messages and lump in as much misogyny as they can.”

Eventually, Broockvar had to leave her home due to the threats, and had to have current or former law enforcement officials drive her to and from meetings. For a time, Broockvar had to move into the Pennsylvania governor's mansion since it had a 24/7 security detail. She was also advised to not be alone during work trips, and had to wear hats and scarves to disguise her identity while out walking her dog.

Even after she left her position, both Broockvar and her family still regularly received threats. Her adult daughter was once threatened by someone who called her a "stupid f—g w—" who said her life would become difficult due to her mother's past work as an elections official.

"That was in 2022, two years after the fact of the 2020 election," Brookvar said. "It’s, again, using that same language – intentionally misogynistic... in a very different way than I think it’s typically done against men."

According to a 2020 survey from the Democracy Fund and Reed College, roughly 80% of election officials are women. And Princeton University's Bridging Divides Initiative has surveyed local officials who have documented "unacceptably high baseline of threats and harassment." Shannon Hiller, who is director of the initiative, told the Guardian that the men who oversee elections get far fewer threats than their female counterparts.

"Even when you control for other factors, like political party or like the size of the locality, women remain significantly more likely to report being insulted, harassed or threatened while in office," Hiller said.

The wave of threats also leads to high turnover, with fewer election workers staying on after experiencing constant abuse. The Brennan Center for Justice found that in recent years, women overseeing elections have seen a growing frequency of threats, and are far more likely to be subjected to gendered abuse than men. Additionally, non-white election workers have experienced a growth of threats that are racial in nature. Roughly 40% of election workers told the Brennan Center they were less likely to stay in their roles after more than one election. Approximately 50% of female election workers echoed that sentiment.

Click here to read the Guardian's report in its entirety.

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