Since the passage of the 2019 law that made sweeping changes to voting in Pennsylvania, at least 21 election officials have left or will soon leave their posts, according to a new analysis by Spotlight PA and Votebeat.

A dozen current and former election officials said that’s no coincidence.

The people tasked with running elections are drained by verbal attacks from angry voters, who are confused or suspicious of the process this year. The elections director in Monroe County had to shut her office’s shades at night because voters would knock on the windows, as late as 9 p.m., looking for assistance.

THE CONTEXT: Even before the pandemic emerged this spring, county election directors said they warned lawmakers and state officials that huge changes to Pennsylvania’s voting system were too much, too fast. Other states took years to implement statewide no-excuse mail voting. They had a few months.

Changing guidance from the state, the pandemic, and misinformation on social media also exacerbated an already challenging situation, election officials said. 

There is no formal training for the high-stakes, complex work of elections administration. Most directors assume the role after learning from their predecessor, making the departure of so many at once a major loss of institutional knowledge.

“It’s horrible, but it’s definitely understandable,” one official said. “The whole year has taken a toll on so many people.”

"None of that money went to the workers, their paychecks are not protected. It’s completely unacceptable."

— Nia Winston, of the union Unite Here, says Pittsburgh’s Omni William Penn Hotel didn't use its federal Paycheck Protection Program loan to protect jobs as it promised to do