As sentencings surrounding the Jan. 6 attacks on the U.S. Capitol continue, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security is working to dissuade others from committing politically charged acts of violence.

“You got to be tough to be doing this for almost 28 years, it’s true,” Ashley Torres, Ulster County Democratic commissioner, said to an election inspectors sitting across from her.

Lorraine Finch has been helping provide a smooth and safe voting process for almost three decades. Still, she sees something new every now and then.

“I’ve obviously been in contact with hundreds of people, thousands,” Finch said in between laughs. “For the most part, people are good.”

It wasn’t until last election season she had her first a real test. Last August, during New York’s 19th congressional district special election, one voter came into her polling location irate, ready to fight with anyone in his path.

“He tried his darndest, probably to get me to argue with them. I did all I could do to control myself. I ended up shaking. I was shaking like a leaf after Ashley came in and took over. I was… he really upset me,” said Finch.

Torres was the first to show up when Finch needed reinforcements. She offered the voter a fix, to which Torres said, he became more hostile.

“He didn’t care that we had a solution for him. He was just there and he wanted to fight with the people that run an election because it satisfied something within him,” said Torres.

The incident happened when Edson Elementary School was turned into a polling site, but elections aren’t the only circumstance the Department of Homeland Security has warned about.

It's concerned about repercussions based on upcoming judicial or legislative decisions as well. The alert centers around “faith-based institutions, individuals or events associated with the LGBTQIA+ community, schools, racial and ethnic minorities, and government facilities and personnel, including law enforcement.”

The news bulletin issued by the National Terrorism Advisory System will remain in place until Nov. 24.

Moderating a smooth election is just part of their job, one that’s become more difficult in recent years due to misinformation and political discourse.

“It's sort of the things that we have to think about now since things have escalated at poll sites," Torres said. "Since, even with the pandemic, I think people, you know, they were inside for so long that kind of lost some of their interactions with people. Then on top of that, you have the discourse that has resulted from the 2020 election.”