Tina Barton urges clerks in safe states to prepare for midterm scrutiny

Tina Barton says the distinction between running an election in a battleground state and a non-battleground state comes down to how errors are handled. In stable regions, a human mistake is often explained away quickly by the press. In contested areas, that same error can spiral into a massive conspiracy theory. Barton learned this lesson the hard way in 2020 while serving as the city clerk for Rochester Hills, Mich.

During the 2020 election night, Barton’s office mistakenly sent an unofficial absentee vote file twice after the first transmission failed to appear. Although the error did not affect the final vote count and was corrected the next day, the incident triggered intense scrutiny. The chairwoman of the Republican National Committee accused her office of improperly allocating votes to Democrats. Barton also received a surge of death threats, including a voicemail stating she deserved a "throat to the knife" for having "frauded out America of a real election."

Election officials in swing states such as Michigan, Georgia, and Arizona have grown accustomed to this level of pressure. However, the 2026 midterms present a different challenge. Because the races determining control of the U.S. House and Senate are distributed across the country, local officials in traditionally non-competitive areas like Iowa, Alaska, New York, and Kansas may face national attention for the first time. Chris McGinn, executive director of the Texas Association of County Election Officials, notes that Texas has been a reliable Republican state for nearly 50 years, resulting in fewer competitive federal elections. His organization is now preparing clerks for the possibility that this status may change, particularly as the U.S. Senate race in Texas could determine the balance of power in that chamber.

McGinn describes the current mindset among his members as one of cautious uncertainty. "We're still in a state of not thinking it can happen to us'That happens in other places,'" he said. He frequently reminds officials that they do not want to replicate the chaos of Florida in 2000. The threat environment for voting officials is currently calmer than it was in the years following the 2020 election, though it remains a constant factor in their daily work.

Wendy Link, supervisor of elections for Palm Beach County, Fla., reports that her office still receives what she calls "love letters." These are emails often intended to intimidate, with one recent message threatening to send an army to arrest her and hold her at Guantanamo Bay. Despite these communications, Link says she is not as worried about her personal safety as she has been in the past and has not requested a security detail. "Do I love reading some of the emails? No," Link said. "But am I reaching out and asking for a security detail? No."

Barton, now the vice president of the Committee for Safe and Secure Elections, warns that controversy can find any jurisdiction if results are close. Her organization recently doubled the number of training sessions it led compared to 2024, citing new concerns regarding the Trump administration’s actions in elections. Researchers note that most false narratives about elections stem from real logistical issues, such as equipment failures or ballot jams, which are then amplified by politicians and influencers. Barton’s message to officials in competitive districts is direct: "I've told them all, you better be on your game."