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