HOUSTON, Texas – As you head to the polls on Election Day, you might notice an increased police presence, both in Houston and across the nation.
That presence will be members of the Harris County Security Elections Task Force, which was created in 2020 to administer safety and security at polls during large elections, like the General Election.
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During the 2020 election, the Task Force effectively maintained a disturbance-free election process, setting a precedent for secure voting experiences.
Members of the Harris County Security Elections Task Force include the Harris County Precinct 1 Constable’s Office, Harris County Elections Office, Harris County District Attorney’s Office, Houston Police Department, Harris County Office of the County Administrator, Harris County Precinct 3 Constable’s Office, and Harris County Fire Marshal’s Office.
But security isn’t only heightened in Houston, nationwide, officials at the FBI headquarters in Washington DC said it’s operating a 24/7 national election command post.
The post will be manned by partners from a variety of agencies, including the U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General, U.S. Secret Service, U.S. Capitol Police, Department of Homeland Security, Election Assistance Commission, and Federal Communications Commission.
“The NECP’s purpose is to ensure the FBI is well-positioned to respond to any election security issue that may arise, including federal election crimes, threats to election workers, foreign malign influence operations, cyber threats, and acts of domestic terrorism. The NECP will track significant complaints from all 55 FBI field offices through their respective command posts,” the FBI’s website read.
About 80 personnel from the FBI and about a dozen partner agencies are staffing the command post in the FBI’s Strategic Information Operations Center. The command post opened on November 1 and will run through at least November 9.
“We feel like we’re well positioned to handle and triage information that comes in,” said James Barnacle, deputy assistant director of the Bureau’s Criminal Investigative Division.. “We have the people in place. We’ve identified the right people at the different agencies. We’ve developed those partnerships over the last few years. We’re going to take the information that comes in, and we’re going to take it through our process, and we’re going to share that information.”
Barnacle said that each of the FBI’s 55 field offices is also staffing a command post that is closely connected with their partner agencies and election officials.