The Real Threat to Elections Is Coming From the Top

By Oregon Secretary of State Tobias Read

The Roadmap brings you ideas and perspectives from solutions-oriented Leaders from outside Washington, DC. Today, Oregon’s Tobias Read, echoing alarms we’ve heard raised from Secretaries of State across the country, explains how the Trump Administration has turned “conspiracies into policies” with dire consequences for our elections and our democracy, and issues a call to action for all of us. For more on the attacks on our elections, and what state and local officials can do to defend democracy, check out my recent op-ed with David Pepper, former chair of the Ohio Democratic Party. – Debbie Cox Bultan, NewDEAL CEO

When I was sworn in as Oregon’s Secretary of State this January, I made one promise above all else: to keep our elections safe, accessible, and secure.

Since then, I’ve watched with growing alarm as the Trump Administration takes deliberate, calculated steps to undermine those very principles. What’s happening now isn’t politics as usual—it’s a coordinated effort to erode public trust in our democracy under the false banner of “election integrity.”

For years, President Trump and his allies pushed baseless conspiracy theories about widespread voter fraud. These claims were thoroughly debunked by election officials, independent watchdogs, and bipartisan reviews alike. Voter fraud in America is vanishingly rare. Yet these fictions persist—not because they’re true, but because they serve a political purpose: to make people doubt, to justify voter suppression, and to give cover to those who want to undermine our elections.

Now, the Trump Administration is turning those conspiracies into policy. And the consequences are dire.

One of the most alarming examples is the assault on the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA)—the federal agency that helps states protect election systems from cyberattacks, foreign interference, and domestic threats. Under the direction of Elon Musk and the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, all CISA’s election security efforts have ended. 

Not some. Not most. 

All.

These protections include physical security assessments that protect county elections offices and intelligence briefings that elections officials rely on to stay ahead of foreign attacks. They include the support for the Election Infrastructure Information Sharing and Analysis Center, which alerts local officials to cyber threats in real time, as well as incident response plans and the tabletop exercises that help our county clerks prepare for worst-case scenarios.

These aren’t hypothetical security measures. These are real tools used by the intelligence community, homeland security, and emergency managers that keep real people safe—and their absence is already being felt.

Here in Oregon, our elections workers have endured bomb scares, white powder mailings, and a torrent of violent threats. Last year, mysterious envelopes containing unknown substances were sent to elections offices in multiple states, including ours. We’ve received phone calls targeting our staff by name, some threatening them with execution. We responded to and prevented a lot of these incidents with CISA’s help. Now, that help is gone.

Since 2021, more than a third of Oregon’s county clerks either left their positions or announced plans to do so. These are experienced public servants driven out by unrelenting threats and mounting workloads. Now, just when they need more support than ever, the Trump Administration is pulling the rug out from under them.

This is not just irresponsible; it’s dangerous.

If we’re serious about election integrity, we need to invest in it. Oregon is a national leader in secure, vote-at-home elections. But, our system is only as strong as the people and infrastructure behind it. Right now, they’re stretched to the breaking point.

A recent study from Reed College confirmed what we already know: Oregon’s funding model for county elections doesn’t work. Counties are doing heroic work with limited resources—but it’s not sustainable.

Meanwhile, the same administration that claims to be cutting waste is spending millions on things like military parades while county clerks are begging for bulletproof glass. Let’s be clear: this is not about fiscal responsibility. This is about undermining democracy while the cameras are pointed elsewhere.

This is why I’m speaking out. Not as a Democrat, not as a Secretary of State, but as someone who believes in the foundation of our republic: free and fair elections.

Across the country, Secretaries of State—Democrats and Republicans—are raising the alarm. But, we can’t do this alone.

I’m calling on every American to stand up and speak out. Join 150 retired and current elections officials asking the federal government to fulfill its responsibility to secure our elections. Call members of Congress. Insist that federal election security funding be restored. Demand that the Trump Administration stop playing politics with our democracy.

The threats to our elections aren’t just coming from foreign governments or internet trolls. They’re coming from the very top.

Oregon deserves better. America deserves better. Together, we must deliver better —before it’s too late.