Midterm races push election officials in quiet states under national spotlight

Tina Barton, who served as the city clerk for Rochester Hills, Michigan, in 2020, learned a hard lesson about public perception during that election night. Her office mistakenly sent an unofficial absentee vote file twice because the first transmission did not appear to complete. The error did not change the final tally, which was corrected the next day, but the incident triggered intense scrutiny.

Barton noted that in non-battleground areas, human errors are easily explained and rarely become major stories. In swing states, however, the same mistake can evolve into a massive conspiracy. The chairwoman of the Republican National Committee accused Barton’s office of improperly giving votes to Democrats. Barton received numerous death threats, including a voicemail stating she deserved a "throat to the knife" for "fraud[ing] out America of a real election."

Local election officials in Michigan, Georgia, and Arizona have grown accustomed to that level of pressure over the last five years. This year’s midterms present a different challenge because the races deciding control of the U.S. House and Senate are spread across the country. Officials in places like Iowa, Alaska, New York, and Kansas may find themselves in the national spotlight for the first time.

Chris McGinn, the executive director of the Texas Association of County Election Officials, has spent the last year preparing clerks for this shift. Texas has been a reliable Republican state for nearly 50 years, resulting in fewer competitive federal elections and less pressure on voting staff. McGinn emphasized that the state’s Senate race could determine the balance of power in that chamber. He told members that they do not want to be Florida in 2000.

Wendy Link, the supervisor of elections for Palm Beach County, Florida, reports that the threat environment is currently calmer than it was in the period following 2020. Her office still receives what she calls "love letters," such as emails claiming her army will arrest her or that she will spend time in Guantanamo Bay. Link said she does not believe the emails are intended to intimidate, though she no longer feels the need to ask for a security detail.

Barton, who is now vice president of the Committee for Safe and Secure Elections, warns that controversy can find any state if the midterms are close. She said that all it takes is ballot equipment going down, ballots jamming, or a website failing. Researchers who study election misinformation say most false narratives emerge from these real events. Influencers and politicians then seize on these incidents to falsely imply they are happening intentionally or on a wider scale.

The Committee for Safe and Secure Elections doubled the number of trainings it led compared to 2024. This expansion reflects new concerns around the Trump administration's actions in elections and a deeper understanding of what it means to be in a battleground state. Barton tells officials in competitive districts that they better be on their game.