Drones, GPS tracking, rooftop snipers: US officials brace for high-risk Election Day

With millions of Americans heading to the polls on November 5, the 2024 presidential election is marked by widespread distrust, social media misinformation, and intensified political polarization—creating an atmosphere fraught with tension and volatility.

Driving the news

• As Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump race neck-and-neck, officials at every level are preparing to navigate one of the most unpredictable and high-stakes elections in recent US history.
• The US government and local authorities have ramped up efforts to combat unprecedented levels of misinformation, potential voter suppression, and threats of violence.
• With disinformation from domestic and foreign sources spreading across social media platforms like X (formerly Twitter), public trust in the electoral process has reached a dangerous low, posing risks to voter turnout and post-election stability.
• Physical security around polling locations and election offices has reached new heights.
• As per a Washington Post report, local governments across swing states like Georgia, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania are fortifying polling sites with everything from bulletproof glass to GPS tracking for ballot drop-offs. They are implementing extensive security protocols to safeguard election sites, with preparations including rooftop snipers to secure a crucial vote-counting facility, panic buttons for election staff, and drones monitoring from above.
• Philadelphia’s election budget has nearly tripled since 2019, as officials implemented emergency buttons and enhanced security protocols.
• Election workers are cautiously optimistic that the measures will prevent the disruption or harassment seen in previous years. However, as Isaac Cramer, a South Carolina election official, noted, “The cost for securing elections is only increasing day by day because of new threats.”

Why it matters

• This election stands out not only for its intense polarization but also for the potential ripple effects of low public trust in the electoral process, a Bloomberg report said.
• Recent surveys show a notable decline in confidence in election results, especially among Republicans: while nearly 70% trust their local polling sites, only 28% believe in the integrity of the results nationwide.
• This sharp drop in trust mirrors a wider crisis of confidence that has steadily grown since 2020, raising fears that many Americans may abstain from voting or contest results they dislike.
• The stakes are high. Experts warn that this distrust, stoked by conspiracy theories and misinformation, may lead to scenarios reminiscent of the post-2020 election unrest. William Pelfrey Jr, a professor specializing in domestic terrorism at Virginia Commonwealth University, told Bloomberg, “Some of these conspiracies don’t make any damn sense, but they’re still propagating and influencing people’s faith in the electoral process.”

Between the lines

• The Justice Department, FBI, and other intelligence agencies have coordinated efforts to uncover and publicize foreign attempts to influence public opinion on a scale that contrasts sharply with the Obama administration's quieter approach to Russian interference in the 2016 election. This active disclosure is seen as essential to preserving public trust. George Barnes, former deputy director of the National Security Agency, emphasized that “the government has to position itself to control the narrative,” adding, “You need to act on intelligence … in the public domain.” As a result, the current administration has leaned heavily into exposing election-related disinformation as a means of reassuring voters.
• While foreign actors like Russia are amplifying fake content — including a widely debunked video of Haitian migrants supposedly voting in Georgia — domestic actors and prominent influencers are playing an equally significant role. Misinformation narratives echoing former President Donald Trump’s stance on electoral fraud have gained traction online, with major figures like Elon Musk and Trump himself amplifying them. These narratives include false reports of destroyed ballots, claims of blocked polling places, and accusations of non-citizens voting. Musk’s own X platform has become a primary venue for these discussions, with posts that question the legitimacy of the election now reaching millions.
• Meanwhile, state and local governments have had to significantly increase their election budgets to address these threats. The Brennan Center for Justice reports that 92% of local election offices have implemented new security protocols, from cybersecurity upgrades to physical enhancements at polling sites. For example, Charleston County in South Carolina has spent over $500,000 on election security since 2020, while Durham County in North Carolina has upped its election budget by $1 million. Durham’s director of elections, Derek Bowens, noted that this year’s budget covers everything from an emergency alert system that allows staff to discreetly call 911 to GPS-tracked vehicles for secure ballot transport.

What they’re saying
“There’s a lot of crazy going on,” Carah Ong Whaley, director of election protection at Issue One, a nonpartisan think tank focused on electoral policy, told Bloomberg. “We’ve always had false information in elections,” she continued, “but in 2024, the sheer volume of different sets and facts and beliefs about election integrity is at a scale that I don’t think we’ve witnessed in our lifetimes.” Whaley's comments echo concerns across both political and intelligence circles that this election has seen an explosion of election-related disinformation that is eroding public trust in an unprecedented way.

In line with these concerns, election officials from battleground states like Georgia, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania are taking steps to safeguard the voting process against disruption. Georgia’s Secretary of State, Brad Raffensperger, told Bloomberg that counties across the state are allocating additional resources to “ensure that their election offices are fully staffed and resourced financially.” Election security infrastructure has become a top priority for local governments, especially in swing states where partisan narratives about election interference are the most heated.

Zoom in
In states like Pennsylvania, where close contests and high voter turnout are anticipated, officials have established new protocols to prevent and quickly address voting irregularities. For instance, after a misleading video suggesting voter obstruction went viral, Bucks County clarified that it was a miscommunication, not a deliberate restriction, and reassured voters that alternative methods for obtaining mail-in ballots were available. Even so, election monitors and local law enforcement will have a stronger presence at polling locations across key counties to address potential harassment or violence on Election Day.

As per the Bloomberg report, officials in other swing states have also heightened security. In Dane County, Wisconsin, a new $20 million election facility featuring bulletproof glass and secure storage is under construction. County Clerk Scott McDonell said, “Some people have nice, secure places for their stuff and others — their machine’s in a broom closet. The new building would change all that. We’d have one secure facility for everything.”

What’s next

• To combat conspiracy theories that could discourage voter participation, election officials are working with tech platforms to prevent false information from going viral, even as these platforms face criticism for their “hands-off” approach to fact-checking. Meta Platforms, for example, has stopped labeling election-related posts and no longer directs users to its voter information center, marking a shift from the proactive stance it took in 2020.
• Additionally, states are taking direct measures to bolster public confidence in the integrity of the voting process. Michigan, for instance, passed a constitutional amendment in 2022 to mandate that election officials adhere strictly to procedural guidelines, limiting the potential for contested results based on certification refusal. According to a Michigan state official, “Our goal is to eliminate confusion. Confusion gives rise to the risk of violence.” These measures are aimed at dispelling doubt in a process that is already prone to high-stakes legal and political battles.
• Beyond local measures, the Biden administration has made significant updates to federal election laws to prevent scenarios similar to those that led to the January 6 Capitol riot.
• The 2022 Electoral Count Reform and Presidential Transition Improvement Act clarifies that the vice president’s role is “solely ministerial,” closing the loophole that Trump allegedly sought to exploit in 2020. This reform increases the barriers for objecting to certified results, creating a legal framework that limits the capacity for election subversion at the federal level.

(With inputs from agencies)

Also See:

US Presidential Election | Donald Trump | Kamala Harris | Tim Walz