Monthly Archives: January 2024

Minnesota's Super Tuesday presidential primary begins early voting, and Secretary of State Steve Simon has highlighted the state's preparedness for challenges such as disinformation, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, and threats to poll workers. Simon outlined multiple security measures, including new election security laws, layers of security for remote voting, public testing of voting machine accuracy, and a corps of volunteer election judges. Emphasizing the need to combat disinformation, Simon urged voters to seek reliable information from state and local election offices. He identified disinformation as a significant challenge in the 2024 election year. Read Article

New Hampshire: Bracing for a wave of write-ins and other potential curveballs, poll workers prep for Primary Day 2024 | Olivia Richardson and Todd Bookman/New Hampshire Public Radio

New Hampshire election officials are expanding their pool of poll workers, anticipating a heavier workload due to an increase in write-in votes on the Democratic side and the implementation of a new voter ID law. There are concerns about potential complications surrounding the state's new affidavit ballot law and challenges in interpreting messy handwriting or misspellings on write-in votes. Election officials are emphasizing the need for patience at the polls and preparing for uncertainties, including the potential delay in counting due to increased scrutiny and unknown factors affecting voter turnout and ballot processing. Read Article

Vermont’s outgoing elections director: ‘Trust the process’ | Steve Pappas/Waterbury Roundabout

Will Senning, the director of elections in Vermont's Secretary of State's office for the past decade, is set to join the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) to oversee Region 1, which covers New England. Senning, who has been deeply involved in Vermont's election administration during pivotal times, including the challenges posed by the pandemic and cybersecurity threats, will bring his expertise to enhance election security at the federal level. His departure comes amid ongoing efforts to address issues of trust and misinformation surrounding elections, with Senning emphasizing the solidity and integrity of the electoral process. Read Article

Virginia county finds 4,000 misreported 2020 votes, shorting Biden | Julia Mueller/The Hill

Election officials in Virginia's Prince William County have acknowledged that approximately 4,000 votes were misreported during the 2020 presidential election, with former President Trump incorrectly receiving 2,327 extra votes, and President Joe Biden being shorted 1,648 votes. The errors affected U.S. Senate candidates from both parties, and a Republican House candidate who won his race was shorted just under 300 votes. The misreporting issues were attributed to results tapes not being programmed in a compatible format for state reporting requirements, leading to errors during correction attempts. Read Article

Wisconsin GOP rift over impeaching Meagan Wolfe boils over in Assembly | Molly Beck/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Divisions within Wisconsin Republican lawmakers have escalated as leaders continue to obstruct efforts by a small faction to impeach the leader of the Wisconsin Election Commission, Meagan Wolfe. Representative Janel Brandtjen attempted for the second time to bring forward a resolution for impeachment proceedings against Wolfe over false claims about the 2020 election. Assembly Majority Leader Tyler August blocked the move, describing it as a "big show for the cameras." Read Article

Elections and Disinformation Are Colliding Like Never Before in 2024 | Tiffany Hsu, Stuart A. Thompson, Steven Lee Myers/The New York Times

Billions of people will vote in major elections this year — around half of the global population, by some estimates — in one of the largest and most consequential democratic exercises in living memory. The results will affect how the world is run for decades to come. At the same time, false narratives and conspiracy theories have evolved into an increasingly global menace. Baseless claims of election fraud have battered trust in democracy. Foreign influence campaigns regularly target polarizing domestic challenges. Artificial intelligence has supercharged disinformation efforts and distorted perceptions of reality. All while major social media companies have scaled back their safeguards and downsized election teams. Read Article

Georgia voters push for hand marked paper ballots in trial over Dominion voting machine security | Megan Butler/Courthouse News Service

Georgia voters and members of the Coalition for Good Governance, a nonprofit focused on election transparency, testified in a trial challenging Georgia's use of Dominion ballot marking devices. The plaintiffs argue that the QR codes on the ballots, used by the Dominion system, make it difficult for voters to ensure their intended selections are accurately conveyed and counted. The voters expressed a lack of trust in the machine system and preferred hand-marked paper ballots. Read Article

National: Only 4% of US States Fully Prepared for Cyber-Attacks Targeting Election | James Coker/InfoSecurity Magazine

A survey conducted by Arctic Wolf reveals that less than 4% of U.S. states are fully prepared to detect and recover from election-targeted cybersecurity incidents, with 14.3% described as 'not at all prepared' and 42.9% as 'somewhat prepared' for the upcoming 2024 election cycle. Similarly, 16.1% of cities were found to be unprepared, and 41.1% only somewhat prepared for election-based cyber threats, while only 3.6% of city officials claimed full readiness. Over 80% of respondents anticipate an increase or maintenance of cyber incidents related to the 2024 elections compared to 2020, and despite these concerns, 36% report inadequate budgets to address cybersecurity around the upcoming election cycle. Disinformation campaigns (50.7%) and phishing attacks targeting election officials or staff (47.1%) were identified as the top two election cybersecurity threats, with concerns about the impact of AI technologies, such as large language models and deepfakes, in creating more sophisticated disinformation and phishing campaigns. Read Article

National: Phishing, Disinformation Top 2024 Election Security Concerns | Jule Pattison-Gordon/Government Technology

Election security leaders in 2024 are expected to confront a range of cybersecurity threats, blending both traditional and emerging challenges such as sophisticated phishing and disinformation campaigns amplified by generative AI. A survey conducted by the Center for Digital Government revealed that election officials and workers feel unprepared for these threats, which primarily include concerns about disinformation, phishing, and data breaches. Deepfake technology, evolving rapidly in recent months, poses a particular challenge in disseminating false narratives, with 51% of state and local government respondents identifying disinformation campaigns as a top concern. Phishing, becoming more advanced, presents unique difficulties for election officials who often receive emails from unknown voters and need to open attachments related to absentee ballots. Read Article

National: State Legislators Tighten A.I. Rules to Combat Deceptive Election Ads | David W. Chen/The New York Times

State lawmakers are rushing to address the increasing sophistication of false or misleading AI-created political ads. By early January, 13 states had introduced legislation related to the regulation of AI in campaign advertising, with penalties ranging from fines to felony convictions. The bills generally aim to require disclosure of AI involvement in ads, with some allowing candidates to pursue civil action. Read Article

National: ‘Better be scared’: threats of political violence foretell tense election year | Rachel Leingang/The Guardian

A recent surge in threats against election officials and judges in the United States is creating a tense atmosphere ahead of the 2024 presidential election. The threats include incidents such as a judge overseeing an election interference case against Donald Trump having her home visited by police following a fake emergency call, attempts to do the same to a prosecutor, and bomb threats to state capitols believed to be hoaxes. The threats, often targeting women and people of color, disrupt and intimidate those involved, causing chaos and making it challenging for election officials to perform their duties. Experts warn that the wave of threats, coupled with increasing support for political violence, could lead to a volatile environment as the future of U.S. democracy is perceived to be at stake in the upcoming election. Read Article

Why Arizona is worried about finishing the presidential election on time but other states aren’t | Jen Fifield/Votebeat

Arizona faces a unique and challenging election timeline, raising concerns about delayed ballot delivery for military voters and late result reporting to Congress. Factors contributing to this situation include a new state law ensuring recounts, a federal law hardening the presidential race deadline, voter-friendly mail ballot rules, and an extended timeframe for counting ballots. Other states with more efficient election timelines have shorter mail ballot periods, quicker counting laws, faster certification dates, and reduced risk of recounts. Arizona officials are calling for changes to key dates to avoid potential delays, with options including adjusting the primary date, tightening voter-friendly rules, compressing result certification timelines, and addressing the recount process. However, aligning Republican lawmakers, county officials, and Democratic Governor Katie Hobbs on proposed changes poses challenges, and the window for adjustments is narrowing. Read Article

Arkansas Attorney General again rejects ballot language for proposed amendment that would require hand counted paper ballots | Michael R. Wickline/The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin has rejected proposed ballot language for the Restore Election Integrity Arkansas committee's second version of a proposed constitutional amendment requiring paper ballots in the state. The proposed amendment would mandate hand marked paper ballots and restricting the use of voting machines to voters with disabilities. The proposed amendment would prohibit precenct tabulation and require that "certification of all elections shall be based on a hand count of the votes performed and verified by human intelligence". The rejection letter stated unresolved issues with the definition of a "disabled voter." The committee also faced a rejection for its proposed constitutional amendment imposing limits on absentee voting. A complaint filed against the Secretary of State and the Board of Election Commissioners is seeking the Arkansas Supreme Court's certification for the proposed amendments' ballot language. Read Article

Georgia: Trial gets underway for constitutional challenge to state’s voting system | Kate Brumback/Associated Press

In a trial that began Tuesday, voters are asking U.S. District Judge Amy Totenberg to order the state to stop using the Dominion Voting Systems touchscreen machines used by nearly every in-person voter statewide. Instead, they argue, most voters should fill out hand-marked paper ballots, with a touchscreen machine at each polling place for people with disabilities. That would ensure voter intent is accurately captured and that meaningful audits can be done, they argue. Read Article

Georgia Speaker Burns seeks to end ballot QR codes, add oversight | Mark Niesse/The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Georgia House Speaker Jon Burns, a Republican, has proposed the elimination of encoding voter selections on paper ballots and increased oversight of the secretary of state's office to address concerns about the state's voting technology. Critics argue that Georgia's current voting equipment, manufactured by Dominion Voting Systems, is not trustworthy, and a federal trial is examining the security of the system. Read Article

Illinois State Board of elections to decide Trump’s ballot eligibility | Patrick M. Keck/Springfield State Journal- Register

Illinois has become the latest state to face a formal objection to former President Donald Trump's 2024 campaign, potentially leading to the removal of his name from the March primary ballot. Five objectors filed with the Illinois State Board of Elections, citing Trump's alleged incitement of the January 6, 2021 Capitol insurrection as grounds for his ineligibility under the 14th Amendment. Read Article

Maine House votes down GOP effort to impeach top election official | David Sharp/Associated Press

The Maine House rejected a Republican attempt to impeach Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, who removed former President Donald Trump from the state's primary ballot over his alleged role in the January 6, 2021, Capitol attack. The resolution was voted down 80-60, with Republicans arguing that Bellows' decision disenfranchised over 300,000 Trump voters in the state. Bellows, who invoked the 14th Amendment's insurrection clause, remains steadfast in her decision, stating that any disagreement should be resolved in the courts. Colorado is the only other state to bar Trump from the ballot, with the decision under appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. Read Article

No, Missouri’s Secretary of State cannot legally remove Joe Biden from the 2024 ballot’ | Rudi Keller/Missouri Independent

Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft lacks the unilateral authority to disqualify President Joe Biden from the ballot, as only a court can make such a decision based on a lawsuit filed by another presidential hopeful. Participants in a decade-old case established limits on the secretary of state's authority to decide on candidate qualifications, emphasizing that this power is delegated to the courts to prevent partisan political interference. Ashcroft had previously threatened to disqualify Biden if decisions in Colorado and Maine, where Donald Trump was ruled ineligible over the Capitol attack on January 6, 2021, were upheld. Read Article

Nevada Secretary of State tries to get ahead of caucus-caused confusion – without criticizing caucus | April Corbin Girnis/Nevada Current

Nevada Secretary of State Francisco Aguilar on Wednesday offered little direct criticism of the Nevada Republican Party for rejecting the state-run presidential preference primary in favor of hosting their own party-run caucus. But he defended the state’s primary election system, calling it more accessible to voters than a caucus held over less than three hours on just one specific day. Read Article

Washington House backs tougher penalties for threatening election workers | Jerry Cornfield/Washington State Standard

Washington lawmakers renewed their push Thursday to increase criminal penalties for harassment of election workers. The state House of Representatives, on an 86-11 vote, approved House Bill 1241 to make it a class C felony for a person to threaten election officials with injury through words or conduct. Today, such behavior carries a lesser penalty of a gross misdemeanor. The same bill cleared the House on a 90-7 vote last session but lapsed in the Senate. It is expected to receive a hearing in the Senate in early February. Read Article

Wisconsin judge rules mobile voting sites not provided for in state law but backs other early voting sites | Jessie Opoien/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

A Racine County judge has ruled against the use of mobile absentee voting sites, delivering a partial victory to Republicans who contested the deployment of an absentee voting van in 2022. The van, funded by a grant from the Center for Tech and Civic Life, was accused of disproportionately targeting Democratic voting wards. The ruling does not express "an opinion regarding the efficacy of the use of mobile vans to further the popular use of in-person absentee balloting," the judge noted. "This ruling stands for the proposition that such determinations are for the legislature to direct and cannot be a novel creation of executive branch officials." Read Article

Arkansas: Complaint asks state Supreme Court to certify language for proposed amendment to require paper ballots | Michael R. Wickline/The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

Conrad Reynolds, a retired U.S. Army colonel, and the non-profit Arkansas Voter Integrity Initiative, led by Reynolds, have filed a complaint urging the Arkansas Supreme Court to verify the adequacy of proposed ballot language for two constitutional amendments. These amendments aim to mandate paper ballots for Arkansas elections and impose specific restrictions on absentee voting. The complaint, directed against Republican Secretary of State John Thurston and the state Board of Election Commissioners, seeks the court's certification for the proposed amendments' popular names and ballot titles. Reynolds challenges two 2023 state laws requiring the attorney general to certify proposed ballot language and petitions to have signatures from at least 50 counties. Read Article

Georgia: trial set to begin will decide if state’s voting system is constitutional | Kate Brumback/Associated Press

Election integrity activists are seeking a federal judge's intervention to halt Georgia's use of Dominion Voting Systems ballot marking devices as a universal voting system, claiming they are vulnerable to attacks and pose operational risks that could compromise voters' rights. The activists argue that the use of the machines violate the constitution, while election officials assert their security and reliability. The trial, set to begin, centers on a lawsuit filed in 2017 targeting the paperless AccuVote TSX DREs, which were replaced by the Dominion voting system in 2019. The activists advocate for a switch to hand-marked paper ballots with robust audits. The case predates baseless conspiracy theories about Dominion machines that emerged after the 2020 election. Read Article

The push for hand-counting ballots, election official turnover and other storylines Votebeat is watching in 2024 | Jessica Huseman/Votebeat

2024 is anticipated to bring challenges to the election landscape, including the persistence of hand-counting as a contentious idea within the Republican Party. The high turnover of election workers, exacerbated by stress, low pay, and harassment, poses a threat to the electoral process, especially in areas with new administrators. State legislatures' historical underfunding of elections and the passage of laws with unintended consequences are ongoing issues. Notably, the Republican Party in Gillespie County, Texas, plans to hand-count its primary results, reflecting a broader debate fueled by election conspiracy theories. Election-related indictments and lawsuits in Arizona, Michigan's implementation of new voting laws, and Pennsylvania's significant loss of election director experience are key areas to watch in 2024. Read Article

National: As Jan. 6 nears, Trump voters ready to believe election fraud in 2024 | Susan Page Sudiksha Kochi Savannah Kuchar/USA Today

Supporters of Donald Trump, who generally believe his unfounded claims of fraud in the 2020 election, are prepared to accept those allegations again in 2024, potentially leading to protests and more if Trump runs and loses, according to a USA TODAY/Suffolk University Poll. The poll reveals a lack of confidence in election integrity among GOP voters and widespread fears about threats to American democracy across the political spectrum. A majority of Trump supporters (52%) expressed no confidence that the results of the 2024 election would be accurately counted and reported. The findings underscore the deep political divide and skepticism among Trump supporters about the legitimacy of election results, similar to the sentiments that fueled the Capitol riot on January 6, 2021. Read Article

National: Post-2020 election: American democracy has overcome big stress tests. More challenges are ahead | Nicholas Riccardi/Associated Press

OverOver the past three years, the resilience of American democracy has been tested amid attempts by former President Donald Trump and his supporters to overturn the 2020 election results. While Trump's efforts to overturn the election failed, concerns persist as he dominates the Republican primaries, raising the prospect of potential conflicts and challenges. A big test for American democracy awaits in 2024, with Trump running for the White House again and using increasingly authoritarian rhetoric. Read Article

National: ‘Stakes are really high’: misinformation researcher changes tack for 2024 election | Rachel Leingang/The Guardian

Kate Starbird, a key researcher in the fight against election misinformation, who herself became the subject of an intensive misinformation campaign, has noted that her field is accused of "bias" because right-wing individuals are now the primary spreaders of false information. Starbird, co-founder of the University of Washington’s Center for an Informed Public, expressed concern that the unfounded narrative of rigged elections has deeply permeated the beliefs of many Americans on the right, leading to a misinterpretation of information. Facing attacks and lawsuits, she now refers more to "rumors" than "misinformation" and is cautious about flagging content to social media platforms, anticipating the potential for accusations of bias and censorship. She fears that the election fraud narrative has deeply influenced Americans on the right and could lead to the adoption of worse laws and procedures, increasing the vulnerability to foreign interference in U.S. elections. Read Article

National: Fears grow over AI’s impact on the 2024 election | Julia Mueller and Jared Gans/The Hill

The rapid development of AI is raising concerns about its potential impact on the 2024 U.S. Presidential election. Capable of generating text, images, and deepfake videos, AAI could contribute to misinformation in an already polarized political landscape, eroding voter confidence. Experts warn that AI chatbots may provide misleading information on ballots, calendars, and polling places, while more nefarious uses could involve creating and disseminating misinformation against candidates or issues. Concerns about AI's influence on the election process are reflected in polls, with a bipartisan majority expressing worries about the technology's potential to spread false information. Read Article

National: Misinformation may get worse in 2024 election as safeguards erode | Ali Swenson and Christine Fernando/Associated Press

Nearly three years after the storming of the U.S. Capitol, false election conspiracy theories persist on social media and cable news, with experts warning that the misinformation landscape could worsen in the 2024 presidential election. The erosion of safeguards and the increasing strength of tools that create and spread misinformation contribute to this concern. Generative artificial intelligence tools make it cheaper and easier to spread misinformation, while social media companies have shifted priorities and reduced safeguards. Deepfake technology, capable of producing convincing fakes, is expected to play a significant role in spreading misinformation during the upcoming election. Despite efforts by election officials to prepare and counter misinformation, challenges remain in maintaining trust in the electoral process. Read Article

National: Get ready for AI mayhem in the 2024 elections | Dan Prieto and Miles Taylor/The Boston Globe