(Source: MIRS.news, Published 07/29/2024) DETROIT -- Secretary of State (SOS) Jocelyn Benson told National Press Foundation (NPF) fellows in Detroit on Monday that the Department of State (DOS) plans to roll out a "panic button" communication system for 2024 election workers, contingent on the support of local clerks to help implement it at their voting locations.  

When speaking about resources the DOS is providing to election workers on the ground, Benson said the system, which has not yet been formally announced, would allow poll workers and other election officials to immediately reach law enforcement and other partners via text in case of a threat at a polling location.  

She said the idea came from planning exercises with clerks across the state, law enforcement and first responders "so that we know and they know who to call (and) what to do if someone does show up armed and dangerous."  

It is being piloted in August, and "we hope to have it in place by November," she said of the program.   

During the fellowship on Monday, Ottawa County Clerk Justin Roebuck said part of ensuring the safety of election workers and polling locations is maintaining strong relationships with local law enforcement, giving the example of a strong relationship with his county sheriff.  

But he said it's also important to look at the security of an election facility when addressing the potential for threats and maintaining election worker safety.  

"I'm in the courts as well. I have 19 staff in the county courthouse, and there you have to go through (metal detectors) to get in the building and there's … all these security requirements … and then our election office is down the road five miles and has none of that. 

Roebuck said part of that is based on past violence against judges and other court officials, "and I hope and pray that it doesn't take actual acts of violence against election officials to get us to the point where we realize that there are some legitimate and severe things that we need to look at."  

Roebuck said that while he hasn't been physically threatened, "it's interesting the way people are wording things now. 

"I don't know if somebody somewhere is teaching a class on how to call your election official and not quite threaten them," he said, "Because we do get these interesting little, you know, like, 'we're watching, we're watching' . . . Well, what does that mean?"