US election officials decry Trump's threat to jail them if he returns to White House

[September 10, 2024]  By Tim Reid and Nathan Layne

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. election administrators and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris' campaign condemned on Monday threats by Donald Trump to jail "corrupt" election officials if he wins on Nov. 5, accusing him of intimidation and inciting potential violence.

They were responding to a social media post by the Republican presidential candidate on Saturday in which he threatened a range of people with prosecution if they were to engage in voter fraud in the 2024 election. Studies have found voter fraud in the U.S. to be extremely rare.

Trump wrote: "We cannot let our Country further devolve into a Third World Nation, AND WE WON'T! Please beware that this legal exposure extends to Lawyers, Political Operatives, Donors, Illegal Voters, & Corrupt Election Officials. Those involved in unscrupulous behavior will be sought out, caught, and prosecuted at levels, unfortunately, never seen before in our Country."

Trump also repeated his baseless claim that his 2020 election defeat to Democratic President Joe Biden was due to fraud, the same message he gave to supporters before the deadly storming of the U.S. Capitol building on Jan. 6, 2021.

Adrian Fontes, a Democrat and the secretary of state in the battleground state of Arizona, described Trump's post on his Truth Social account as "tyrannical" and said it had the potential to incite political violence.

"Sadly, security is now one of the main considerations in election administration," Fontes, the top election official in Arizona, told Reuters.

"Trump's comments give the potential for bad actors to take them as a call to arms. We need to protect our election officials and our poll workers. We need to be prepared for just about anything."

Seth Bluestein, a Republican member of Philadelphia's Board of Elections, in the swing state of Pennsylvania, said when asked about Trump's comments: "Every election official I know will be focused on doing their job well, which unfortunately includes preparing for threats of violence."

Republican presidential nominee and former U.S. President Donald Trump looks on during a press conference at Trump Tower in New York City, U.S., September 6, 2024. REUTERS/David Dee Delgado/File Photo

Karoline Leavitt, the Trump campaign's national press secretary, said in a written statement to Reuters: "President Trump believes anyone who breaks the law should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, including criminals who engage in election fraud. Without free and fair elections, you can't have a country."

Amman Moussa, a Harris spokesperson, called Trump's comments "extreme and unhinged," adding: "Donald Trump is further ratcheting up his dangerous threats of revenge and retribution."

Trump and Harris are locked in an election battle that opinion polls show is too close to call. Harris has wiped out the lead Trump enjoyed over Biden before the Democratic president dropped his reelection bid in July, and Harris became the party's White House nominee.

Since his 2020 defeat, Trump has regularly made false claims about election workers cheating him out of victory. Many have received threats.

In reaction to Trump's Saturday post, Jocelyn Benson, Michigan's Secretary of State and a Democrat, posted on X: "My duty - and that of every election official in this nation - is to rise above the noise and continue to ensure our elections are fair, secure, accessible, and that the results are accurate. No amount of lies, delusions or threats will distract us from that purpose."

Michella Huff, elections director in Surry County, North Carolina, said she fears Trump's comments will deter people from becoming election workers.

"All it's going to do is discourage wonderful volunteers," said Huff, a former Republican turned independent.

(Reporting by Tim Reid and Nathan Layne; Additional reporting by Susan Heavey; Editing by Rosalba O'Brien)

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