It’s time to put country over party. Election officials have shown the way.

We should all be proud of the manner in which the country conducted this election — and especially proud of the fact that a record number of Americans made their voices heard this year, despite the deadly coronavirus pandemic.

The foundations of our democracy remained solid this year, in no small part due to the work of thousands of public servants. In all 50 states and the District of Columbia, election officials from both parties did what they’ve done for decades — held elections that were free, fair, and safe. They counted the votes accurately, reliably, and transparently. And experts — including President Trump’s Department of Homeland Security — agree that the election was the most secure in our nation’s history.

That makes it all the more disappointing that a few Americans — President Donald Trump among them — have continued to act as superspreaders of disinformation meant to shake the country’s confidence in our democratic system. Alarmingly, they have also launched direct attacks and harassment campaigns against election officials. This needs to stop.

Election officials do their jobs the same way no matter who’s voting for whom, and they are used to getting a little flak from losing candidates and their supporters — it’s called working the ref. What’s new is that state and local officials are now being made to fear for their lives, simply for upholding their oaths and doing their jobs.

Things have gotten so out of hand that a Republican election official in Georgia was forced to recently speak out about the dangerous rhetoric that’s been flying too freely in a speech full of righteous anger. Officials in Georgia from the Republican secretary of state to county technicians have faced waves of harassment, and even death threats. One worker had a noose placed outside of his house. This is unacceptable. This is not the America we love.

While these incidents are troubling, election officials haven’t been cowed by any of it. They have continued to fulfill their obligations to the voters, and have done so with courage. As Kentucky’s former secretary of state, I understand why they keep going. Election officials are responsible for making sure that the elections they run are free and fair, and they take that responsibility seriously.

Vote counting isn’t a political process. That’s what separates America from many other countries. Vote counting is a bureaucratic process, and, quite frankly, a boring one. It’s also a bipartisan process. Election officials work across party lines in a nonpartisan fashion to ensure every vote is counted fairly and accurately. And they have.

These patriotic Americans — our neighbors and friends — don’t deserve to fear for their safety. They deserve our praise — and probably a raise. They have done what many thought was an impossible feat: administer smooth elections during a pandemic that has taken the lives of more than 275,000 of our fellow Americans.

Approximately 160 million Americans voted in this election, more than any other in U.S. history. Over 100 million Americans voted early, another major accomplishment, and they did so primarily by mail, a safe and proven voting method. This simple act helped reduce lines on Election Day, which made it easier to respond to problems like technology failures, and it also helped limit the spread of the coronavirus.

Thankfully, the work of election officials is now done. By the end of the week, every state will have officially certified the results of their elections, and the Electoral College will vote on December 14 to affirm that Democrat Joe Biden will be the next president of the United States.

Our democratic process has played itself out. Now is the time for all Americans — especially President Trump and congressional leaders — to lower the temperature, seek common ground, and put country over party to move the nation forward. It’s fitting that election officials have already shown us the way.

Republican Trey Grayson is the former secretary of state of Kentucky, a member of the National Task Force on Election Crises, and a member of the bipartisan National Council on Election Integrity.