Michael Lipsky, an MIT political science professor, coined the term "street-level bureaucracy" in 1980 with his book titled that. While much attention is placed on the policy makers and high-level bureaucrats, the street-level bureaucrat — the government officials we interact with when doing business with our government, such as paying our taxes or getting a drivers license — collectively have a large influence on public policy through the discretion they are trusted with.

I was reminded of this as I listened to an NPR report this week on election officials. Over half of election officials in battleground states have left their positions since the last presidential election, NPR noted, citing a new report from Issue One. While some turnover is expected, that number is unusually high due to the increased pressure, workload, and threats to election workers originating from the large amount of misinformation and conspiracy theories. This misinformation began with former President Donald Trump's false claims that the 2020 election had been stolen, claims that were in service of his attempt to overturn the results of the election, a crime for which he is now finally being prosecuted.

Trump's coup attempt failed due partly to high-level bureaucrats, such as Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, who refused when Trump asked him "find 11,780 votes" to overturn the results in his state, and Vice President Mike Pence, who refused when Trump wanted him to not fulfill his duty to preside over the Senate's certification of the election results.

But the coup also failed due to a number of street-level bureaucrats who were under pressure to participate, people like Georgia election workers Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss, who were threatened and pressured to falsely claim there were election irregularities. (Trump co-conspirator Rudy Giuliani was recently found liable for defaming Freeman and Moss.)

Now imagine what would happen if we don't have street-level bureaucrats with courage and integrity like Freeman and Moss. Election workers are the unsung heroes of our democracy. If their work becomes corrupt, our democracy can quickly fall apart.

2 things you can do:

1. Pay attention to news about election workers where you live and make your voice heard if you have concerns.

2. Consider volunteering to become a poll worker.

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What Else We're Reading

Misinformation research is buckling under GOP legal attacks

Academics and government scientists say the campaign also is successfully throttling the years-long effort to study online falsehoods, which grew after Russian attempts to interfere in the 2016 election caught both social media sites and politicians unaware.

Interviews with more than two dozen professors, government officials, physicians, nonprofits and research funders, many of whom spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss their internal deliberations freely, describe an escalating campaign emerging as online propaganda is rising.

Bullies, Bamboozlers, and Anti-Bullies

So many people call out from within their own camps the disagreeable behavior of those outside their camps. These folks call out loudly, publicly, indignantly, righteously, piously, clangingly (if I may coin a word). It’s almost as though they aren’t even trying to convince, convict, or persuade the people in the other camp.

And that was the lightbulb moment.

It’s not about actually convincing or persuading those outside the camp. It’s about building and maintaining moral (or even immoral) authority within their own camps.

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