WASHINGTON (November 4, 2024) – Local authorities around the nation are taking precautionary security measures to withstand potential violence and other nightmare scenarios on Election Day and following days. According to The Washington Post, local officials are touting elaborate measures to fortify election-related sites, “including plans for snipers on a rooftop to protect a key vote-counting headquarters, panic buttons for election workers and surveillance drones buzzing overhead.”
Faculty experts at the George Washington University are available to offer insight, analysis and commentary. If you would like to speak with an expert, please contact GW Media Relations at [email protected].
Security
Rohin Sharma is the Senior Middle East/Terrorism Analyst, US Army; Faculty Member, Homeland Security Program at the College of Professional Studies. He is an expert in Homeland Security and Political Violence and Terrorism. He was recognized as a subject matter expert in his field and served seven years as a US Army Intelligence Officer.
Scott J. White, Associate Professor and Director of the Cybersecurity Program and Cyber Academy at the College of Professional Studies at the George Washington University. Dr. White is an expert in cybersecurity, cybercrime, counter-terrorism and infrastructure protection. He has worked for a variety of law enforcement agencies in the US, the UK and Canada; as well as holds a Queen’s Commission and was an Officer with the Canadian Security Intelligence Service.
Extremism
Jon Lewis, a research fellow at the Program on Extremism at the George Washington University, studies domestic terrorism, with a specialization in the evolution of white supremacist and anti-government movements in the United States and federal responses to the threat. He has also focused heavily on the January 6th insurrection, the extremism on display that day, and the ensuing court and legal cases in its wake. Lewis can discuss how rhetoric creates the conditions for individuals to find the justification for violence and how it emboldens extremists.
Matt Dallek, a professor at GW’s Graduate School of Political Management, is a political historian with expertise in the intersection of social crises and political transformation, the evolution of the modern conservative movement, and liberalism and its critics. Along with four co-authored books, Dallek is the author of Birchers: How the John Birch Society Radicalized the American Right, which explores the history and influence of America’s right-wing activism.
Political Rhetoric
Peter Loge, the director of the GW School of Media and Public Affairs, has nearly 30 years of experience in politics and communications, including a presidential appointment at the Food and Drug Administration and senior positions for Sen. Edward Kennedy and three members of the U.S. House of Representatives. He currently leads the Project on Ethics in Political Communication at the GW School of Media and Public Affairs and continues to advise advocates and organizations. Loge is an expert in communications and political strategy as well as political rhetoric and ethics.
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