Warning: This lesson is intended for high school students. The video contains threatening language and bleeped out curse words directed towards election poll workers.

SUMMARY

With a little more than two weeks until Election Day, some parts of the country are still looking for people to work at polling places. One reason could be the threats and harassment that’s been aimed at election officials since the false claims that the 2020 election was stolen.

Current and former election officials from across the country have been the targets of vitriol-filled phone calls, murderous threats and even stalking. “It’s not something that any election official signs up for,” said Tina Barton, a former city clerk in Michigan. “There has been a dehumanization of those in the elections world.”

The story was produced by PBS News' partners at Arizona State University's @news21, a student journalism organization.

View the transcript here.

News alternative: Check out recent segments from the NewsHour, and choose the story you’re most interested in watching. You can make a Google doc copy of discussion questions that work for any of the stories here.

WARM-UP QUESTIONS

1. Who are the individuals featured in this story?
2. What is the main problem poll workers are facing?
3. Where are the poll workers experiencing threats?
4. When did the threats start, according to this piece?
5. How are election workers dealing with the threats?

FOCUS QUESTIONS

1. Why is threatening poll workers counter to what democracy means?
2. What do you think should authorities should do in order to ensure poll workers' safety?

Media literacy: Why do you think News Hour chose to include the violent threats towards election workers in the story rather than have the reporters describe the threats? Was this the right decision, in your mind?

Alternative: See, Think, Wonder: What did you notice? What did the story make you think? What would you want to learn more about?

What students can do:

• Learn more about News 21, a student journalism organization at Arizona State University and how they are reporting on the state of democracy in America.
• Check out Classroom's election lessons here: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/classroom/tag/vote-2024

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