Nebraska Secretary of State Robert Evnen testifies in D.C. on election security

LINCOLN, Neb. (KOLN) - The topic of election security has made it all the way to lawmakers in Washington D.C., who worry that the spread of misinformation is starting to take cause problems for polling workers voting places and those overseeing elections.

On Tuesday afternoon, Nebraska Secretary of State Robert Evnen, along with four other national officials, testified before a United States Senate Committee with regards to national election security.

All five officials assured the committee that all midterm elections in 2022 were conducted fairly and accurately, but noticed an increase in people harassing and threatening early voters, polling workers, and election officials.

New Mexico Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver recalled a recent event where an individual allegedly carried out drive-by shootings of the houses of six election officials in New Mexico due to misinformation influences.

To increase confidence in election systems and operations, Secretary Evnen offered a simple solution: Become part of the process.

”We encourage people to become poll workers,” said Evnen. “We encourage people to become observers on election day, and what we find is as they become more familiar with the process itself, their confidence of the integrity in the process grows.”

A 2022 study from the Brennan Center showed one in three election officials are concerned for their safety simply due to their job, and with voting interests increasing, lawmakers will continue to discuss the best options to maintain voting integrity across the nation.

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