From bulletproof glass to panic buttons, jurisdictions across the U.S. are taking unprecedented steps to protect election workers and ballots amid concerns about voter intimidation, fraud and even violence at the polls.

The election director in Cobb County, an Atlanta suburb where votes will be fiercely contested in this year’s presidential race, recently organized a five-hour training session. The focus wasn’t solely on the nuts and bolts of running this year’s election.

BRIGHTON, Colorado ‒ Bulletproof glass. Security cameras. Panic buttons. As the elected county clerk and recorder in a suburb of Denver, Josh Zygielbaum's days are normally filled with marriages, vehicle licensing and house-sale registrations.