Summary: <p><a href="https://www.naco.org/sites/default/files/documents/Role-of-the-County-Clerk.pdf">Counties in 26 states elect county clerks.</a> One of the primary responsibilities of the position is to administer elections. After the 2020 election, and false claims of election fraud by former President Trump and his supporters, <a href="https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-covid-health-presidential-local-91fe788870e35dfe4763d78fe0ca6ef7">county clerks and many of the election workers who work with them found themselves targeted by threats and harassment</a>. </p> <p>Those are the states that local elections administrators are really dealing with some brand new problems that I don't think any of us really expected after the 2020 election. They're getting physical assaults in their offices now. They're having to hire additional security. They have threats that they've had to report to the FBI. And, you know, for a job that was relatively unknown and also is so administrative and really when it's done right, is not a very controversial thing. It's been really jarring, I think, for a lot of election administrators that are now coming under attack for doing their job. And I think we're all still trying to figure out what that means for the future of elections administration. But everybody right now is really looking to 2024 and wondering what's going to happen. - Brianna Lennon</p> <p>We speak with a <a href="https://twitter.com/briannalennon">Brianna Lennon</a>, Boone County, Missouri County Clerk and co-host of the <em><a href="https://www.kbia.org/podcast/high-turnout-wide-margins">High Turnout, Wide Margins</a></em><em> </em>podcast, about what a county clerk does, what voters should think about when electing one, and the importance of the position in upholding democracy. </p>
