The 19th is committed to covering the unfinished business of voting rights. Read more about how we’re approaching that in this pivotal election.

It’s Election Day in America and voters are heading to the polls this Tuesday to cast ballots in a historic election that could produce the nation’s first woman president or its oldest.

At the center of this exercise in democracy will be election officials, a predominantly women-led workforce that has been preparing for months and even years to make the vote-counting process more secure and transparent.

“Elections and voting have become so politicized,” said Christina Baal-Owens, executive director of Public Wise, an organization that advocates for fair elections. “There’s a lot of really wonderful civil servants who are just trying to do their job and feel really committed to having their communities be able to vote.”

The politicization is the result, in part, of online disinformation about widespread voter fraud — amplified often by former President Donald Trump as he seeks another term. Polls show he is locked in a nearly tied race with Vice President Kamala Harris.

At least 80 million people have already cast a ballot ahead of Tuesday, either in person or by mail, during an early voting period that stretched weeks and was even marked by back-to-back hurricanes. For now, just isolated incidents involving ballots — from some drop boxes being damaged in the Pacific Northwest, to delayed mail-in voting in Georgia and Pennsylvania —  have been reported.

Still, state and federal officials have made security preparations in case of political violence, fortifying vote-counting sites with concrete dividers, fencing and security guards. In Washington State, the Democratic governor announced plans to activate the state’s National Guard in case of “civil unrest” related to the election. Agencies including the FBI are warning the public about Russian efforts to influence the outcome of the election. In Washington, D.C., the vice president’s residence has new fencing around it, along with the White House and U.S. Capitol. Law enforcement have announced security measures for Trump’s election night party.

Voting experts believe Trump could claim victory on election night irrespective of whether election officials have counted enough ballots to project a winner. He did the same thing in the hours after the polls closed in 2020, solidifying a narrative he had been building since before that election. It directly contributed to a deadly insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.

On the campaign trail in recent days, Trump has claimed without proof that widespread voter fraud has occurred, particularly in the battleground state of Pennsylvania. That has generated a flood of conspiracy theories being shared online.

“There is a heightened sense by some voters — and again, we’re talking about a small fraction of the voting population — that are going to take anything that they perceive as not being what they necessarily want to have happen, as a personal affront or a violation of their own rights,” said Tammy Patrick, chief executive officer for programs at the Election Center, an organization that works with election officials, during a press call.

Election officials have been in the crosshairs, trying to bring transparency to how they’re running the elections — while at times contending with harassment, intimidation and threats of violence to do a job that just a few years ago was seen as uncontroversial.

The National Association of State Election Directors (NASED) and the National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS), the key organizations representing election officials around the country, issued a joint statement asking the public for patience during the vote-counting process.

“As with any Election Day, it is important to note operational issues may arise: for example, voting locations could open late, there could be lines during busy periods, or an area could lose power,” said part of the statement. “These are inevitable challenges that will arise on Election Day, but election officials have contingency plans for these and other scenarios. Americans can have confidence the election is secure, and the results will be counted accurately.”

If the race is close, the public may not know the results on election night. In 2020, it took major news outlets four days to project that President Joe Biden had won the presidency. It took some battleground states several more days after that to count all their ballots.

While some states have updated rules that could speed up the vote-counting process, some key battleground states have not. However, vote-by-mail, a popular option during the COVID-19 pandemic, is down — one indication that results in some swing states could come in faster. 

Voting experts believe Trump and his allies are paving the way to legally challenge the election results if he loses, in part by blaming immigrants. Trump has not committed to fully accepting the results of the election, and Harris’ campaign has indicated plans to respond to any lawsuits that might come amid the vote counting.

Skye Perryman is president and CEO of Democracy Forward, a legal organization that has been involved in voting rights litigation in previous years. She said the “pro-democracy” community is also ready to respond to legal challenges that might threaten to toss legally cast ballots.

“There is a pro-democracy community that understands that playbook, and that is poised to ensure that every vote is counted and that we have integrity in our democratic processes,” she said. “The message for voters is: Do your part and vote.”