Election Security Spotlight — Swatting Registries

What It Is

Swatting, the act of reporting a non-existent incident to law enforcement and triggering an emergency response to a particular location, continues to be a serious issue. Swatting endangers not only the individuals at the targeted location but also the emergency response team that responds to the call.

To help combat swatting, some jurisdictions at the local level are implementing swatting registries. Also known as anti-swatting registries or swatting concern registries, swatting registries are tools that enable individuals to pre-register or proactively flag their address on a confidential list if they are at a high risk of being targeted. If an emergency is reported for that address, emergency response teams receive an alert indicating it may be a false report and to proceed with caution.

Why It Matters

Election officials and polling places are at risk of being swatting targets. Swatting can disrupt the voting process on election day while also putting voters, poll workers, and emergency response teams in danger. It is also important to note there have been multiple instances of swatting directed at homes of election officials.

What You Can Do

A few recommendations on how to combat swatting:

• Reach out to your local law enforcement. Part of election preparedness is establishing a good relationship with your local law enforcement agency. In your conversations, educate them on the possible ramifications of swatting on election day and ask if they have a swatting registry or other way to flag certain addresses.
  • If so, provide your local law enforcement with the following addresses:
    • All high-risk election officials in your office
    • Election office
    • List of polling places
• Provide an election schedule. Ensure you provide your local law enforcement with a list of election dates and opening/closing times of the polls.

Resources

For more information, please review “Preparing for Election Day Disruptions” in the EI-ISAC's Essential Guide to Election Security. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security also has resources available, such as the publication, Swatting Calls and Hoax Threats.

Please contact us at [email protected] if you have any questions.