In a significant move ahead of the 2024 election, Pennsylvania, a crucial battleground state, has announced the formation of a dedicated task force to address threats to the electoral process. The initiative was launched by Democratic Governor Josh Shapiro on Thursday.
“Pennsylvania, the cradle of American democracy, is committed to preserving the fundamental freedoms of its citizens. Our aim is to ensure a free, fair, safe, and secure election this November,” Shapiro stated in an official announcement.
The task force’s establishment comes in response to the recent rise in election misinformation, instances of voter intimidation, and other threats to the democratic process. Pennsylvania, a key battleground state, was a primary target of former President Donald Trump and his allies following the 2020 election. They sought to undermine the state’s results by alleging fraud, demanding audits, and launching attacks on election officials.
Task Force’s Mission
The task force’s primary objective is to provide voters with “accurate, trusted election information,” according to the official statement. The team is composed of federal, state, and local officials, including representatives from the US Department of Homeland Security, the state attorney general’s office, local election directors, and state police.
The task force will be headed by Secretary of the Commonwealth Al Schmidt, Pennsylvania’s top elections official. Schmidt acknowledged in the statement that the task force’s formation is a response to recent attempts by “bad-faith actors” to spread election lies and “to delegitimize our safe, secure, and accurate elections.”
Post-2020 Election Fallout
Following the 2020 election, Trump and his allies prematurely declared victory in Pennsylvania and then tried to halt officials from completing their count of mail-in ballots. Shapiro, then the state attorney general, and Schmidt, then the lone Republican on Philadelphia’s elections board, were leading opponents of Trump’s efforts.
As Pennsylvania prepares to secure the upcoming primary election in April, Schmidt is also tasked with addressing another fallout from the widespread 2020 election lies: the surge in threats against election officials. In Pennsylvania, nearly 70 county election directors or assistant directors in at least 40 of the state’s 67 counties have resigned since January 2020, as previously reported by CNN. Schmidt has cautioned that the departure of experienced staff could further fuel conspiracy theories in the coming months.
CNN’s Fredreka Schouten and Gregory Krieg contributed to this report.