California: Judge blocks law that targeted deepfake campaign ads | Jon Healey/Los Angeles Times

With deepfake video and audio making their way into political campaigns, California enacted its toughest restrictions yet in September: a law prohibiting political ads within 120 days of an election that include deceptive, digitally generated or altered content unless the ads are labeled as “manipulated.” On Wednesday, a federal judge temporarily blocked the law, saying it violated the 1st Amendment. Other laws against deceptive campaign ads remain on the books in California, including one that requires candidates and political action committees to disclose when ads are using artificial intelligence to create or substantially alter content. But the preliminary injunction granted against Assembly Bill 2839 means that there will be no broad prohibition against individuals using artificial intelligence to clone a candidate’s image or voice and portraying them falsely without revealing that the images or words are fake. Read Article

Georgia Republicans sow doubt about Dominion voting machines in 2020 throwback | Zachary Cohen/CNN

Just weeks before early voting begins in Georgia, Republican Party officials and Donald Trump allies are trying to preemptively sow doubt about the viability of Dominion systems used across the key swing state, arguing in court that the machines should not be used because they are not safe or secure. In a replay of 2020 tactics, Republicans have continued to claim without proof that Dominion voting systems were exploited in previous elections, resulting in mass manipulation and vote-flipping by a nefarious actor. And GOP officials in DeKalb County in Georgia, aided by a familiar cast of pro-Trump lawyers, have signaled they are planning to once again question the 2024 election results if Trump loses. Read Article

Georgia election boards must certify the state’s election results despite new rules, judge says | Mark Niesse and David Wickert/The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

In two preelection trials Tuesday, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney said state law requires county election boards to certify results one week after Election Day. Republicans who raised the question agreed that certification is mandatory — but with an important caveat. They said individual board members had the right to vote “no” and a majority of members could decide to exclude precincts from certification if they suspected fraud or irregularities. McBurney didn’t immediately issue rulings after the Republican-controlled State Election Board recently approved a rule calling for an undefined “reasonable inquiry” before certification on Nov. 12. Read Article

Montana: Indigenous voting rights dispute in Montana surfaces before 2024 election | Tom Lutey/Montana Free Press

Fort Peck tribal members are suing Valley County seeking satellite voting locations, arguing that Indigenous voters have poor access to the polls. Attorneys for the tribal voters say the absence of satellite voting locations in Frazer and Poplar violates the rights of the Fort Peck Assiniboine and Sioux tribes. Voters must drive 23 miles one way to vote in person and receive basic voter assistance available off the reservation. The reservation straddles Valley and Roosevelt counties. The tribes have asked both to improve voting access for tribal members in this year’s election. Read Article

North Carolina: Hurricane Helene upends election planning in some parts of state | Steve Harrison/NPR

North Carolina election officials said Tuesday that early voting would start as planned on Oct. 17, including in counties that were devastated by flooding from Hurricane Helene. But they don’t know how many early voting sites and Election Day polling places might be unusable in the swing state because of the storm. “There may be polling places impacted by mudslides, there may be polling places inaccessible because of damaged roads, and there may be polling places with trees that have fallen on them,” said Karen Brinson Bell, executive director of the North Carolina State Board of Elections. North Carolina is still trying to assess the damage from Helene, which caused massive flooding in the mountainous western part of the state. Read Article

Pennsylvania mail ballot dating issue may be bound for U.S. Supreme Court | Carter Walker/Votebeat

The American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to decide whether requiring voters to date their mail ballot return envelopes violates federal law. The group filed its petition Friday on behalf of the Pennsylvania branch of the NAACP. It follows a separate request from voting rights groups this week to Pennsylvania’s highest court for an expedited ruling on the date requirement. “The right to vote is one of the most important in this country,” said Janette Wallace, general counsel of the NAACP. “Ballots should not be rejected because of irrelevant errors. We will continue to fight so that voters’ voices may be heard. That’s why we’re taking this to the Supreme Court.” Read Article

Texas’ vote harvesting law is unconstitutional, judge says | Xiomara Moore/The Texas Tribune

A federal judge ruled on Saturday that part of a Texas law that enacted new voting restrictions violated the U.S. Constitution by being too vague and restricting free speech. The ruling, made by U.S. District Judge Xavier Rodriguez, immediately halted the state’s ability to investigate alleged cases of vote harvesting, such as the investigation into the League of United Latin American Citizens by Attorney General Ken Paxton. Before today’s ruling, a person who knowingly provided or offered vote harvesting services in exchange for compensation was committing a third-degree felony. This meant that organizers of voter outreach organizations and even volunteers could spend up to ten years in prison and fined up to $10,000 for giving or offering these services. Read Article

Wisconsin Supreme Court rules that RFK Jr. must stay on November ballot | Alexander Shur/Votebeat

The Wisconsin Supreme Court rejected Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s request to have his name removed as an independent presidential candidate from the November ballot or covered with stickers, a relief for local clerks. The court on Friday upheld a decision by the bipartisan Wisconsin Elections Commission to keep Kennedy — who dropped out on Aug. 23 and endorsed former President Donald Trump — on the ballot despite his request to drop out. The commission cited a law saying qualified nominees can only get off the ballot if they die. “It’s good to have that done so we could focus more on the election,” Waukesha County Clerk Meg Wartman, a Republican, said about the case. She said around 40,000 ballots had already gone out in the county, and some had already been returned. Read Article