WILLIAM BRANGHAM: A new report reveals# a historic amount of turnover within## local elections offices, but also# the resiliency of that work force.

Stephanie Sy takes a closer look.

STEPHANIE SY: The new report from the Bipartisan# Policy Center, in collaboration with researchers## at UCLA, acknowledges what we have been hearing# from election workers since 2020, when Trump## supporters were accused of intimidating# and threatening these civil servants.

But while many election# workers have left the field,## the report finds that there are glimmers of hope.

Miles Parks covers voting and election# security for NPR and joins us now to help## us unpack what this new data may teach us# about what's to come in this election year.

So Miles Parks, the report states that# turnover is not new and that, for decades,## local election offices have dealt with# this.

Why is that context so important?

MILES PARKS, NPR: Well, it kind of gives a good# news and a bad news, I feel like, Stephanie.

I feel like, on the good news, it -- there's# been all of this hyperbole over the last## couple of years as this started to come out# that election officials were leaving their job,## kind of people freaking out about the state# of the 2024 election.

The fact that this## isn't as new indicates to some experts that# maybe the election administration profession## is a little bit more prepared than --# for 2024 than maybe previously thought.

The bad news is that the fact that# turnover has been ticking up over the## last 20 years indicates that there are# some chronic issues with the profession## outside of the threats and harassment# we have heard so much about, things## like election officials saying that# they are not getting enough resources.

And the other thing I hear a lot from election# officials is that their jobs have just gotten## a lot harder over the last decade.

We know# that laws are changing rapidly.

That can have## an impact on how hard an election official's# job is.

And then election officials have to do## things like become cybersecurity experts, become# physical security experts now, in addition to## just making sure people can get their ballots and# making sure those ballots are counted correctly.

STEPHANIE SY: And some of those# election workers would say that,## after the 2020 election in particular,# things got even harder for them.

You have been covering the election landscape,# Miles, since 2016, including threats to election## workers.

I just want to remind viewers of# what some of them have been going through.## We spoke to election officials from both sides# of the aisle in North Carolina and Pennsylvania.

AL SCHMIDT, Pennsylvania Secretary of the# Commonwealth: In the past, candidates ran## against other candidates and campaigns ran against# other campaigns.

And in the la.. the people responsible for running elections# have been targeted as enemies, when, in reality,## they are simply trying to make sure# that their voters' votes get counted.

KAREN BRINSON BELL, Executive Director, North# Carolina State Board of Directors: These are not## high-paying jobs for a lot of folk.. for serving the public, for carrying out our# elections process.

They do so with integrity.

And yet we're at a time when their# integrity is being questioned,## both personally and professionally, quite often.

STEPHANIE SY: And we have heard# of similar frustrations, Miles,## among election workers here in Maricopa# County, Arizona, where I'm based.

Did this report show turnover has# been worse in battleground states?

MILES PARKS: It did.

And this was one o.. researchers looked at, turnover kind of impacted# jurisdictions, no matter their political leaning,## no matter their geography.

And then, in 2020,# what they found specifically, that turnover jumped## the most in states that were competitive in the# presidential election, which aligns with what we## have heard from law enforcement about where there# has been an uptick in threats and harassment.

And I will also note, even when I talked# to election administrators who are in these## battleground states, even if they personally have# not received the threats, they talk about how## much more pressure is on them to do their jobs# completely perfectly every single day because## there's just this general sense, this cloud# that they could be next in terms of targeting.

STEPHANIE SY: You know, one# of the positives, however,## that came out of this report is that# the data suggests, even though there's## been more turnover, more experienced# election workers are filling the jobs.

Is that across the board, or do you# see more of a struggle to retain those## experienced election officials# in hotly contested districts?

MILES PARKS: So, what we're actually seeing is# kind of the inverse,is that, across the board,## on average, the people replacing the who are# -- who have left, according to this new report,## on average have about eight years of# experience in the administration field.

But when you look at these larger jurisdictions,## which generally since 2020 have been the# places, the Detroits, the Philadelphias,## the Maricopa counties, highly populated# areas, on average the election officials who## are replacing the people who've left there have# 11 years of election administration experience,## which is really surprising, I think,# to the researchers I talked to.

They found it oddly comforting, that maybe# it's not all doom and gloom ahead of 2024.

STEPHANIE SY: So maybe things aren't as bad# as post-2020 election headlines suggest.

Miles, I want to ask you about something# else.

You also recently have reported that,## despite concerns about voting access that# came after the 2020 election, that new data## shows it has actually gotten easier to vote since# 2000.

Tell me a little bit about that reporting.

MILES PARKS: Yes, this was a really# interesting report that came out## recently from the Center for Election# Innovation and Research that basically## looked at, do people have more than just# Election Day to be able to cast a vote?

And what they found is that in 46 states and D.C.,# voters have the -- have some sort of option to## vote early, which is a really big sea change# when you think about two decades ago.

In 2000,## 86 percent of voters cast a ballot# on Election Day, whereas, in 2024,## 97 percent of voters live in a place that# they have the opportunity to vote early.

And so when you just think about the most basic# aspect of voting, filling it out, turning it in,## that -- voters have more options to# do that now than almost ever before.

STEPHANIE SY: As you said,# it's not all doom and gloom.

Miles Parks with NPR.

Thanks so much, Miles.

MILES PARKS: Thanks, Stephanie.