This year’s local races will determine how Pennsylvania runs its 2024 presidential elections.

Counties, not the state, run elections — and the county boards of elections that certify results are on the ballot this year for the first time since the 2020 presidential race. If they choose to contest those results, local officials can use their individual counties to hold the entire state’s results hostage.

The act of certification was once a routine ministerial task. But with the rise of election denialism and the mainstreaming of once-extreme conspiracy theories since former President Donald Trump’s refusal to accept his 2020 loss, county-level certification has emerged as a key vulnerability in the electoral system.

“The unsubstantiated challenges to the validity of the 2020 election not only spurred citizens to storm the Capitol on January 6th, but it has also gained traction in some local government offices to cast doubt on other election results when they do not align with a desired outcome,” said Tammy Patrick, CEO for programs at the Election Center, a Texas-based nonprofit that is also the National Association of Election Officials.

More than a dozen Pennsylvania elections officials interviewed by The Inquirer said the changing role of local elections boards in recent years — including becoming more high-profile and politicized — has created new risks. Some warned of rising electoral danger in their own and neighboring counties, including election deniers running for office.