HARRISBURG, Pa. — Governor Shapiro has launched an Election Threats Task Force, just over eight months out from the 2024 election.
It’s a joint effort between security, law enforcement, and election administrators at the federal, state and county levels, including the County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania (CCAP).
“All eyes will be on Pennsylvania so we have a real responsibility to make sure we’re doing everything we can to address physical security, cybersecurity," said Lisa Schaefer, executive director of CCAP.
The task force will be tasked with sharing information and figuring out ways to protect voters from intimidation and fight against potential threats to the election process.
“There are cyberattacks from foreign agents, there are domestic hackers, there are threats at polling places, there’s misinformation about how elections work," explained Stephen Medvic, professor of government at Franklin & Marshall College.
President of Dickinson College, John E. Jones III, applauded the governor’s move. As a former federal judge who ruled on Pennsylvania’s voting law in 2020, Jones believes it’s a smart thing to do as a battleground state.
“They need tools they can use and they need to game plan and think about the what ifs," he said. "What if a polling place is blocked? What if there’s some kind of interference?”
The creation of the task force is being met with opposition from Republican leaders in Pennsylvania.
Republican House Leader, Rep. Bryan Cutler (R-Lancaster) released a statement Thursday, saying in part, “By turning our elections into a military and law enforcement exercise, Gov. Shapiro completely misses the point of election security and his administration’s role in conducting free, safe and secure elections.”
Senate Majority Leader, Sen. Joe Pittman (R-Armstrong, Indiana, Jefferson and Westmoreland) also released a statement, saying in part, “Much like Gov. Shapiro’s decision last fall to implement automatic voter registration, this task force was crafted by a unilateral decision made by the Shapiro Administration without any input from the General Assembly – the branch of government most representative of the will of the people of Pennsylvania.”
The launch of the task force comes four years after President Biden's narrow victory over former President Donald Trump in Pennsylvania was met with baseless allegations of voter fraud.
A rematch of the two candidates is expected again this year.
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