Activists for hand-counting ballots don’t acknowledge drawbacks: More mistakes, time, and money | Jessica Huseman/Votebeat

The effort to expand hand-counting ballots in elections continues despite evidence that it is less accurate, more time-consuming, and costly compared to using tabulators. Advocates claim hand-counting is straightforward, but in reality, it involves complex processes, requiring many people, time, and space, leading to increased opportunities for errors. Hand-counting is less efficient in the United…

National: Head of US cybersecurity agency sees progress on election security, with more work needed for 2024 | Christina A. Cassidy/Associated Press

The head of the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), Jen Easterly, announced plans to strengthen election system protection by hiring 10 additional election security specialists who will interact directly with state and local officials. Despite significant progress in safeguarding election systems since the 2016 presidential election, there are growing concerns about emerging threats,…

National: Meta’s Threads needs a policy for election disinformation, voting groups say | Dara Kerr/NPR

Threads, the new social media platform launched by Facebook’s parent company Meta, has gained tens of millions of users in less than a month. However, voting rights groups are concerned as Threads has not outlined a plan to curb election disinformation on the site. The groups, including Vote.org and End Citizens United, sent a letter to Meta asking for a robust plan to ensure strong election policies are in place, especially with the 2024 election cycle approaching. While Meta claims that Facebook’s rules apply to Threads, the voting rights groups argue that a standalone policy is necessary to clarify implementation and enforcement. Read Article

National: ‘Local elections are at risk’: Senator Warnock reintroduces legislation to stop election interference | Ambria Burton/Georgia Public Broadcasting

Georgia Sen. Raphael Warnock has reintroduced the Preventing Election Subversion Act of 2023 in Congress to protect local state election administrations from partisan interference and address challenges with voter registration. The bill aims to limit the baseless removal of local election officials, allowing removal only for specific reasons, and provides a federal cause of action to enforce this standard. It also addresses voter challenges by requiring personal knowledge to support each individual challenge and aims to prevent the targeting of specific demographics based on their beliefs or background. Warnock’s bill comes after a study showed that at least 20 states have introduced bills focused on election interference, raising concerns about partisan subversion and interference in the democratic process. Read Article

National Association of Counties Adopts Resolution Urging Congress to Protect Election Officials from Threats, Intimidation | Kevin Kinnally/Conduit Street

The National Association of Counties (NACo) has passed a resolution urging Congress to impose appropriate penalties for threats and intimidation against public servants responsible for fair elections. The resolution calls for legislation to penalize offenses such as harassing or intimidating election officials, threatening them or their families, attempting to pressure officials to violate state law or the Constitution, and disseminating personal information about them. Election officials are facing increased attacks, with nearly one in three experiencing harassment, abuse, or threats. Read Article

National: First Findings Shed Light on Role of Social Media Algorithms in 2020 Election | UT News

An academic team from multiple universities collaborated with Meta to study the impact of social media on the 2020 U.S. election. The researchers found that algorithms had a significant effect on what users saw on their feeds, but changing the algorithms for a few months did not impact participants’ political attitudes. The study, co-led by researchers from the University of Texas at Austin and New York University, aimed to understand the influence of social media on American democracy. Despite altering various aspects of Meta’s algorithm for three months during the election period, including removing reshared content and changing to a chronological feed, there were no significant effects on political polarization or ideological extremity. Further research from the project will provide insights into the content and behavior on the platforms. Read Article

National: AI Disinformation Drives Lawmaker Fears About 2024 ‘Wild West’ | Oma Seddiq and Amelia Davidson/Bloomberg

As the 2024 elections approach, lawmakers are facing a short timeframe and lack of consensus to address the threat of deepfakes, which could manipulate and shape the outcome of the elections. The increased use of artificial intelligence by political campaigns has surpassed the efforts of Congress, political parties, and regulators to address the technology’s potential for disinformation. Some Democrats have introduced bills to require labeling on political advertisements that use AI, but Republicans have been slow to support such legislation. Congress is still grappling with understanding the rapidly evolving technology and may be months away from introducing comprehensive legislation to address AI’s threats in elections. In the meantime, political ad spending on deepfakes is expected to increase, raising concerns about the spread of false and misleading content to voters. Read Article

National: Trump condemned Jan. 6 rioters, now he’s become a big supporter | Jill Colvin/Associated Press

Former President Donald Trump, who initially condemned the violence of the January 6, 2021 Capitol rioters, has now evolved to downplaying the violence, praising the rioters as patriots, and spreading false claims about the attack. He is currently the early front-runner in the 2024 Republican presidential primary and has vowed to pardon a “large portion” of Jan. 6 defendants if he wins a second term. He has also fundraised for them, befriended their families, and collaborated on a song featuring Jan. 6 defendants singing “The Star-Spangled Banner” over a prison phone line. Trump’s evolution comes as Republicans, public opinion, and some in Congress have sought to recast the mob as nonviolent and downplay the severity of the attack. Read Article

Opinion: Nonpartisan Election Administration Is the Norm in Other Democracies. Why Not Here? | Thom Reilly/Governing

A study conducted by the Center for an Independent and Sustainable Democracy at Arizona State University found that Arizona voters strongly support requiring top state and local election officials, such as secretary of state and county recorder, to be elected in a nonpartisan manner. The study surveyed registered voters from different parties, and 92 percent of respondents felt that top election officials should take an oath to function in a nonpartisan manner. Currently, most states in the United States select chief election officers through explicitly partisan processes, leading to concerns about public trust and polarizing campaigns. Implementing a nonpartisan election system could potentially increase overall confidence in the election system and reduce distrust in elections. Read Article

Arizona’s 11 Republican fake electors face state, federal scrutiny  | Robert Anglen/Arizona Republic

A group of 84 people, including Republican officials, lawmakers, and candidates from seven swing states, falsely claimed to be alternate electors in a coordinated plot to keep Donald Trump in office after the 2020 presidential election. In Arizona, 11 top party officials and candidates avowed they were the state’s “duly elected and qualified electors” and cast their votes for Trump, despite him not winning the state. Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes has launched an investigation into the state’s fake electors, and similar probes have taken place in Nevada, Georgia, and Michigan. Read Article

Georgia election security showdown over Dominion arrives ahead of 2024 | Mark Niesse/The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Georgia’s Secretary of State, Brad Raffensperger, is facing pressure from critics, including Lt. Gov. Burt Jones and some Republican state senators, over election security flaws related to Dominion voting machines. A federal judge’s unsealed report revealed “critical vulnerabilities” that could potentially alter votes, intensifying concerns about the system’s safety ahead of the 2024 election. Raffensperger defends the current equipment, emphasizing the need for thorough testing before any upgrades and implementing additional security precautions like “health checks,” logic and accuracy testing, post-election audits, and collaboration with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. While Dominion-funded reports claim the hacking risk is remote, cybersecurity experts and nonpartisan activists advocate for more stringent security measures, such as a switch to hand-marked paper ballots and rigorous tracking of memory cards and ballots. Read Article

Georgia: Republican promoters of election fraud approve ballot hand-counts | Justin Glawe/The Guardian

The elections office in Spalding County, Georgia, which is run by Republicans promoting falsehoods about the 2020 election, has approved a motion to implement automatic hand recounts for all future elections. The decision requires elections staff to hand-count each ballot and compare the totals with those reached by voting tabulation machines. Hand counts are slower and less reliable than machine tabulations. The lone Democrat on the board initially supported the idea but objected when the Republicans did not consider the costs to taxpayers. Read Article

Michigan clerk stripped of election duties after being charged for acting as fake elector in 2020 | Joey Cappelletti/Associated Pess

Stan Grot, the Shelby Township clerk in Michigan, will be prohibited from administering elections after being charged by the state attorney general for acting as a fake elector in the 2020 election for then-President Donald Trump. He was among 16 Republicans charged with signing false certificates stating that Trump won the state, not Biden. While Grot is innocent until proven guilty, his alleged role in the fake elector scheme undermines voter confidence in election integrity. Local clerks across the country have faced legal consequences for alleged crimes related to false claims about the 2020 election. Grot and the others are scheduled to appear in court on August 10. Read Article

Nevada’s 2020 fake electors may not yet be in the clear, former US attorney says | Casey Harrison/Las Vegas Sun

Nevada Republicans who participated in a scheme to overturn the 2020 presidential election could still face federal charges, despite a state attorney general’s determination that they broke no state laws. The Republicans were part of a group in several states that hosted fake ceremonies to certify electoral votes in favor of Donald Trump, sending phony certificates to the National Archives. Michigan has already charged its fake electors, and federal prosecutors may pursue charges against the Nevada group, who had no legal standing to meet. Experts suggest that the key to potential federal charges would be proving that the participants knowingly broke the law. Read Article

New Jersey law aims to bring uniformity to how clerks report election results | Sophie Nieto-Munoz/New Jersey Monitor

Governor Phil Murphy signed a bill into law aimed at making reporting of election results more uniform statewide in New Jersey. The law requires county clerks to post election results online by 11:59 p.m. on the day of primary and general elections and to continue posting them daily by 9 p.m. until all the ballots are counted and the election is certified. The goal is to bring clarity to the reporting process and restore faith in the elections process, countering misinformation and confusion that may arise from inconsistent reporting. The law also mandates the disclosure of the number of voting machines used, the type of ballots counted, and provides district-level results broken down by early in-person votes, Election Day machine votes, and mail-in votes. The bill includes a $1.5 million appropriation to help implement the new requirements. Read Article

How Pennsylvania counties spent the first-ever election grants from the state — and why they want more | Carter Walker/Votebeat Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania counties that received $45 million in state funding to cover election costs during last year’s November election have expressed satisfaction with the investment and plan to apply for a new round of grants in August. The funds were spent on various expenses related to the election, such as mail ballot sorting machines, voting equipment transportation, and poll worker pay. The grant funding was made available through a bipartisan law known as Act 88, but at least two counties have opted not to apply for the grants again due to the requirements, including continuous counting of mail ballots. However, most counties are looking forward to reapplying and incorporating the state money into their 2024 budgets. Read Article

Wisconsin’s Election Office In Limbo After GOP Tries To Force Out Its Director | Cameron Joseph/Bolts

The job of Wisconsin’s top election official, Meagan Wolfe, is in jeopardy due to a conspiracy-fueled attempt by Republicans to remove her from office. She is widely respected for her nonpartisan management of the Wisconsin Election Commission, but right-wing conspiracy theorists and Republican lawmakers have targeted her, spreading false claims about the 2020 election and blaming her. With her term expiration in July, Democrats blocked a procedural step to confirm her for another term, leaving the situation unstable. The state’s readiness for the 2024 elections could be compromised, and the case will likely be decided in the state supreme court, adding more uncertainty to the process. Read Article

New York Board of Elections expected to vote on the use of highly controversial ExpressVoteXL voting machines | Rebecca C. Lewis and Shantel Destra/City & State New York

Ahead of the Board of Elections vote on authorizing the use of controversial touch-screen voting machines called ExpressVoteXL, various groups, including good government organizations, election advocates, and security experts, are urging commissioners not to approve them. The opposition stems from concerns about cyber vulnerabilities, the encoding of voter selections into barcodes and the high cost without proven benefits. Experts have questioned the sufficiency of thermal paper used by the machines and raised technical arguments against them. Some groups have shared letters and evidence to support their concerns, while others argue that paper ballots marked by voters are the gold standard for election security. The opposition to the machines is not new, with previous efforts to ban them through legislation failing. Read Article

Disinformation reimagined: how AI could erode democracy in the 2024 US elections | Nick Robins-Early/The Guardian

Experts are concerned about the potential impact of AI-generated disinformation on elections. The rise of artificial intelligence tools that can create realistic images, mimic human voices, and write human-like text is making it easier to produce and spread deceptive political content on a massive scale. Such content not only threatens to deceive audiences but also erodes trust in the information ecosystem. AI-generated disinformation can be used for voter suppression, spread misinformation to target specific groups, and create false constituencies. Campaigns have already begun dabbling in using AI-generated content for political purposes, and there are concerns that the proliferation of such content will make fact-checking difficult and corrode public trust in information. Read Article

Georgia investigation finds errors in Fulton County audit of 2020 election | Mark Niesse/The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

During an audit of Georgia’s 2020 presidential election in Fulton County, vote counters made several mistakes, including double-counted and misallocated votes, attributed to human error during the manual counting process. The audit did not change the election’s outcome, which showed Joe Biden defeating Donald Trump in Georgia by about 12,000 votes. The errors identified by investigators amounted to approximately 3,000 absentee votes counted for Biden. The State Election Board ordered Fulton County to implement new audit procedures and provide adequate training for election staff. Despite the errors, the overall audit count was close to the certified machine results. Read Article

National: Democrats rally around election proposal as counterpoint to GOP plan | Justin Papp/Roll Call

 

Democratic lawmakers, joined by public interest groups, are promoting the bicameral bill known as the Freedom to Vote Act, which aims to expand voting access, prevent partisan gerrymandering, and curb the influence of dark money in elections. The bill has been reintroduced after stalling in the Senate during the 117th Congress. Democrats argue that the proposed legislation is essential to protect democracy, while Republicans are pushing their own plan called the American Confidence in Elections Act, which includes voter ID requirements and restricts federal government access to political donor rolls. The Republicans’ bill has been labeled the “Big Lie Bill” by Democrats, who claim it aims to suppress specific groups of voters, especially Black voters and voters of color. Both bills are part of the ongoing debate over voting rights and election integrity in the United States. Read Article

National: Smartmatic subpoenas Flynn, Bannon in defamation lawsuits against Fox News and Newsmax | Marshall Cohen/CNN

Voting technology company Smartmatic has issued subpoenas to Trump allies Michael Flynn and Steve Bannon as part of its defamation lawsuits against Fox News and Newsmax. The lawsuits stem from the promotion of 2020 election lies, with Smartmatic seeking $2.7 billion from Fox and an unspecified amount from Newsmax for disseminating false information that harmed the company’s business. Both Flynn and Bannon played significant roles in Trump’s efforts to overturn the election results, and they have faced their own legal troubles in the past. Fox News and Newsmax deny wrongdoing and are contesting the lawsuits. Read Article

National: Intelligence nominee warns generative AI poses threat to 2024 elections | Maggie Miller/Politico

Lt. Gen. Timothy Haugh, Joe Biden’s nominee to lead the NSA and Cyber Command, expressed concerns about the potential threat of generative artificial intelligence (AI) technologies in the upcoming U.S. presidential election. Haugh testified to the Senate Armed Services Committee that foreign actors might attempt to use generative AI to interfere with the electoral process. The use of AI in disinformation campaigns poses new challenges for organizations like Cyber Command and the NSA, which have previously monitored and disrupted threats to U.S. elections. Senators from both parties are calling for regulations and monitoring of AI technologies to address the risks of disinformation and potential foreign interference. Read Article

National: AI could create a disinformation nightmare in the 2024 election | Joshua A. Tucker/The Hill

The rapid evolution of social media from a tool for democratization to a threat to democracy has raised concerns about the role of AI, specifically language models like ChatGPT, in spreading political misinformation. The rise of social media reduced the cost of spreading misinformation, and now AI has lowered the barriers to producing misinformation by generating high-quality text and images. AI-generated images may be easier to address through labeling with unalterable watermarks or metadata, but detecting AI-generated text will require the use of other AI methods, potentially leading to greater ambiguity and claims of bias. The responsibility ultimately falls on social media platforms, which remain the primary means of spreading misinformation, and the need for transparency and regulation is crucial. Read Article

Arizona: As push for hand-counting ballots continues, Republican senators emphasize legality, not practicality | Jen Fifield/Votebeat Arizona

Republican lawmakers in Arizona are touring the state to convince county decision-makers to hand-count ballots in the upcoming presidential election. They claim that it is legal to do so in Arizona, emphasizing that county officials are not mandated to use machines. The pitch is finding support among Republican voters who are skeptical of the security of machines, but election law attorneys disagree on the legality of hand-counting ballots. While some believe the lack of specificity in state law allows for hand-counting, others argue that it is illegal based on other sections of the law. Hand-counting ballots could pose significant challenges due to Arizona’s notoriously long ballot and high turnout, making the process less accurate and efficient compared to using machines. The debate over legality is drawing attention away from other well-known issues with hand-counting and has the potential to result in a court battle at taxpayer expense. Read Article

Arizona: Cochise Supervisors’ quest for conducting 100% hand count continues in court | Summer Hom/AZPM

The Cochise County Board of Supervisors has filed an appeal after a judge ruled against their pursuit of a 100% hand count audit of the 2022 General Election, stating it violated Arizona election law. The board’s attorney argued that state statute permits such an audit, citing the language requiring a randomized hand count audit of at least two percent of precincts or two precincts, whichever is greater. Another section of Arizona law allowing ballots to be counted by hand or machines was also invoked. The judge maintained the statute applies and is not superfluous, while an attorney representing the Arizona Alliance for Retired Americans argued that Arizona law does not allow a full hand-count audit unless discrepancies trigger expanded audits. The appeals court has not set a timetable for its decision. Read Article

California: Redding councilor says cost to hand count votes could affect city’s ability to hire police | David Benda/Redding Record Searchlight

The Redding City Council in California is concerned about a proposed voting system change in Shasta County that would involve hand counting ballots. The cost to implement this new plan would nearly quadruple the city’s expenses for the November 2022 election, potentially reaching $400,000 for two elections in a year. Councilwoman Julie Winter worries that this increase in costs would affect the city’s ability to hire police officers, impacting public safety. The proposed change to hand counting ballots is part of a broader investigation into attempts to overturn election results, but it could become moot if Assembly Bill 969, which bans manual counting of ballots in elections with over 1,000 registered voters, becomes state law. Read Article

Georgia Supreme Court rejects Trump’s bid to block Georgia election probe | Joseph Ax/Reuters

Georgia’s Supreme Court has unanimously rejected former President Donald Trump’s attempt to block an investigation into potential illegal interference with the state’s 2020 election. The investigation is led by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, who has been looking into the matter since a recorded phone call in January 2021, where Trump urged Georgia’s top election official to find enough votes to overturn Joe Biden’s victory. The court’s decision comes ahead of a planned formal charges request by prosecutors, and Willis has indicated that she will seek indictments in August from a regular grand jury. Trump denies any wrongdoing and accuses Willis of targeting him for political reasons. Read Article

Michigan charges 16 Trump electors who falsely claimed he won the state | Patrick Marley/The Washington Post

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, a Democrat, has charged 16 Republicans, including former state Republican Party co-chairwoman Meshawn Maddock, with forgery and other felonies for falsely claiming to be the state’s 2020 presidential electors. The charges stem from a state investigation into the submission of official-looking paperwork to the federal government asserting they were casting the state’s electoral votes for former President Donald Trump, despite Joe Biden winning Michigan. These charges mark the first criminal prosecution against Trump electors as investigations into attempts to overturn election results intensify across the country. Read Article

Montana: The back-and-forth over voting rights | Alex Sakariassen/Montana Free Press

Plaintiffs, including the Montana Democratic Party, tribal stakeholders, and youth engagement organizations, have filed legal briefs in response to Secretary of State Christi Jacobsen’s appeal over four election laws that were blocked in 2021. The appeal centers on the level of legal scrutiny applied to the laws that ended same-day voter registration, barred paid ballot collection, and implemented stricter voter ID requirements. The plaintiffs argue that the laws are unconstitutional and infringe on Montanans’ right to vote, while Jacobsen maintains they are necessary to combat voter fraud and safeguard election integrity. Additionally, the appeal addresses a fourth law that was struck down, which prevented county officials from sending absentee ballots to minors turning 18 on or before Election Day, deemed as denying voting access to that subgroup. Two groups, the Montana Federation of Public Employees and a coalition of state constitution and election law scholars, have expressed support for the plaintiffs in the case. Read Article