In Their Own Words: Threats and Harassment Facing Local Officials

May 25, 2023
Cover of ITOW Report

This report offers preliminary insights and reflections on the experiences of local officials facing threats and harassment, in their own words, through conversations with 30 elected officials from across a broad range of locations, demographics, and ideologies. Much of the existing work on threats and harassment of officials looks outside the United States and focuses mostly on national and high-profile elected officials. This report centers on local officials, with many of them serving in small communities, often missed in national-level conversations. In interviews with BDI researchers, local officials often described more incidents of threats and harassment that did not appear in their initial response to a survey conducted in partnership with CivicPulse, validating the need for mixed methods research and high-quality, sensitive engagement with officials. The interview process created an opportunity for local officials to paint a full picture of their experience and surface appropriate policy responses.