{"href":"https://api.simplecast.com/oembed?url=https%3A%2F%2Fdemocracy-decoded.simplecast.com%2Fepisodes%2Fdemocracys-frontline-workers-HzQuuxKu","width":444,"version":"1.0","type":"rich","title":"Democracy’s Frontline Workers","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_url":"https://image.simplecastcdn.com/images/6613a143-e5bd-4a20-b8e4-4f8bb15189e0/e70913d7-e18f-4add-9d05-6de5a34bc93b/election-officials.jpg","thumbnail_height":300,"provider_url":"https://simplecast.com","provider_name":"Simplecast","html":"","height":200,"description":"Election workers are the people in your neighborhood. They’re our friends, neighbors and co-workers who help keep American democracy safe and secure... But in 2020, many of them were maligned, harassed and threatened in battleground states — the targets of bad actors who sought to sow distrust in the electoral process.\n\n\n\nHow can we better protect and support the many dedicated civil servants and volunteers who provide such crucial work? The thousands of election workers who will staff this November's election are the front line of security and safety for voters. The processes they help carry out have been practiced and refined across nearly three centuries of American elections. Attacks on election workers are a threat to a functional democracy.\n\n\n\nIn this episode, we talk with Kristina and Steve Reisinger — a wife and husband in eastern Pennsylvania who found a community in their local polling place and were inspired to volunteer. And we also speak with Kelsey Rogers, CLC's senior manager for state advocacy, about the threats being faced by election workers in recent years and the steps some states are taking to protect them. "}