Today is Saturday, June 15th.

We are less than five months away now from Election Day,

and as we deal with a pretty contentious political atmosphere,

there are concerns about potential violence.

A recent poll from Reuters Ipsos found two-thirds of U.S. adults are worried

political violence could break out after November 5th if, quote, extremists aren't happy with the

results. And election workers are on the front lines.

The Brennan Center for Justice found more than half of surveyed local election officials

are worried about the safety of their colleagues,

and more than a third have already experienced threats, harassment or abuse due to their jobs.

Looking ahead, 43% are concerned about recruiting enough poll workers for the November election.

And almost all local election officials, 92%, say they've taken new steps since 2020

to increase election security for both workers and voters.

Our two guests are no exception.

They've already faced threats directly

and are taking steps now to keep everyone safe on election day.

In fact, one of them says he got more dangerous threats

as an election official in recent years

than when he was a homicide detective.

Chris Harvey served as Georgia's state elections director during the 2016 and 2020 elections

and is now back in law enforcement as deputy director of the Georgia Peace Officer Standards and Training Council.

I'm also speaking with Derek Bowens, the Director of Elections for Durham County, North Carolina.

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