On today’s episode, we begin a four-part series on election safety and security with guests Tina Barton and Sheriff Justin Smith. Tina is a senior elections expert with The Elections Group and is the former senior program advisor to the executive director of the at the US Election Assistance Commission. Justin Smith is a retired sheriff from Larimer County, Colorado and has over 35 years of law enforcement experience. He served as president of the Colorado Sheriffs’ Association and is a former member of the executive committee of the National Sheriffs’ Association. They are both members of the Committee for Safe and Secure Elections, an organization that features cross-partisan experts in election administration and law enforcement who aim to support policies and practices that protect election workers and voters.

Today, they discuss the components of election safety and the societal aspects that influence elections in the United States. They talk about their involvement in the Committee for Safe and Secure Elections, the process for preparing local officials and law enforcement for safeguarding elections, threats faced by local election officials, the history of election interference and questions about election security, and more.