Election leaders in Georgia urge openness to dispel misinformation

Two men stand armed with guns on Jan. 6, 2021, in front of the governor's mansion in Olympia, Wash., during a protest supporting then-President Donald Trump and against the counting of electoral votes in Washington, D.C., affirming then-President-elect Joe Biden's win. The key to dispelling conspiracy theories and misinformation about how elections are run is to confront the lies head on, election leaders from across the country who are meeting under heightened security in Wisconsin were told Wednesday, July 20, 2022. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, File)

The key to dispelling conspiracy theories and misinformation about how elections are run is to confront the lies head on, top state election officials said Wednesday.

The advice from election administrators in Georgia, Ohio and Utah came during a gathering of the National Association of State Election Directors, which is being held under heightened security because of threats that have targeted election workers since the 2020 election.

“When it comes to election results, it’s really pretty simple,” said Blake Evans, state elections director for Georgia. “People want accuracy, speed, transparency and they want their candidate to win. Unfortunately, usually under that kind of formula, there’s going to be slightly less than half of the population in a close contest that’s not going to be very happy with the way the results come out.”