National: Trump campaign says it will deploy thousands of election workers to monitor poll sites | Alex Isenstadt/Politico

Former President Donald Trump’s political operation has announced plans to deploy over 100,000 attorneys and volunteers across battleground states for the upcoming November election, aiming to monitor and potentially challenge vote counting. Described as the most extensive election integrity program in history, it will include training for poll watchers, workers, and lawyers. This initiative reflects Trump’s persistent focus on election security, despite widespread conclusions that there was no significant fraud in the 2020 election. Trump’s warnings of potential Democratic rigging in 2024 mirror his previous false claims about the 2020 election, which he unsuccessfully attempted to overturn. Read Article

National: Former U.S. election agency head Steven Frid got unauthorized pay increase | Jen Fifield/Votebeat

An investigation conducted by another agency’s inspector general revealed that Steven Frid, the former executive director of the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC), received a significant pay raise without the knowledge of EAC commissioners. The report also found that Frid expensed Harvard University courses without approval and failed to properly disclose personal leave. EAC commissioners unanimously voted to terminate Frid’s employment in December after learning of the investigation, marking the agency’s third executive director in as many years. The investigation detailed Frid’s actions, including obtaining an annual pay raise of $31,450 without approval, expensing leadership training courses at Harvard University without supervisor approval, and failing to report 96 hours of leave on his time-and-attendance records. Read Article

National: States Race To Counter AI Fakes Before the 2024 Election | Vera Bergengruen/Time

State officials across the U.S., prompted by concerns over the potential impact of AI-generated disinformation and deepfakes on the upcoming elections, have taken proactive measures to address the issue. Led by New Mexico Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver’s realization of the urgency at a conference, states are enacting laws requiring disclosure of AI use in political campaigns and criminalizing the intentional dissemination of misleading AI-generated content. These efforts, part of a broader trend, aim to balance First Amendment rights with safeguarding elections from malicious manipulation. Read Article

Arizona: US Supreme Court rejects Kari Lake, Mark Finchem in machine voting lawsuit, ending legal challenge | Stacey Barchenger/Arizona Republic

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday rejected an appeal brought by Arizona Republicans Kari Lake and Mark Finchem, bringing finality to the duo’s legal effort challenging the use of electronic voting machines two years to the day after it began. Lake, a candidate for U.S. Senate, and Finchem, a candidate for state Senate, asked the nation’s top court to hear their case in mid-March. The court declined to consider it, making that official with an order on Monday that does not include details of the court’s decision. Legal experts had predicted the court would not exercise its discretion to add the case to its docket, citing well-established legal precedent and the court’s low acceptance rate. Read Article

Arizona: Inside the private company Maricopa County depends on to power through the last-minute ballot slog | Jen Fifield/Votebeat

After the polls close in Arizona’s presidential preference election, ballots arrive at Runbeck Election Services for processing, crucial in Maricopa County, the largest swing county in the U.S. These ballots, dropped off on Election Day, are among the last to be counted, as they require verification of voter signatures. Runbeck’s high-speed machines scan envelopes, facilitating the process. As election integrity comes under scrutiny, Maricopa County and Runbeck collaborate to expedite counting while ensuring transparency, with plans for a new election center. Questions arise about outsourcing the scanning process, but logistical challenges and the need for specialized expertise complicate efforts to bring the process in-house. Read Article

Connecticut towns want more money for early voting. Lawmakers say no way | John Moritz/CT Insider

Amid budgetary constraints at the State Capitol, local officials have been cautioned not to anticipate additional assistance for the ongoing implementation of early voting during the upcoming presidential election this fall. House Speaker Matt Ritter emphasized that while municipal aid might see an increase in funding, none of it would be designated for early voting support. With Connecticut becoming the 46th state to introduce in-person early voting during this year’s presidential primary, the cost burden on municipalities has been significant, with estimates ranging from $4,000 to $70,000 per town. Read Article

Georgia election officials and police prepare for voting dangers | Mark Niesse/The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Law enforcement and election officials are gearing up for potential threats to election security and workers in Georgia ahead of the upcoming elections. With concerns over escalating tensions and past incidents of threats, officials are conducting training sessions to prepare for worst-case scenarios, including dealing with disgruntled voters, aggressive poll watchers, and potential evacuation situations. Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger emphasizes the importance of ensuring safe and secure elections, acknowledging the contentious and polarized climate. Read Article

Idaho: Ada County Elections Office unveils online Ballot Verifier tool | Clark Corbin/Idaho Capital Sun

Ada County Elections officials have introduced a groundbreaking online Ballot Verifier tool, aiming to enhance transparency in elections. The tool allows the public to access scanned ballot images and corresponding cast vote records for all Ada County elections from 2022 onwards, without revealing voters’ personal details. By providing easy verification of tabulated ballots and vote records, officials hope to bolster trust in the election process. Previously, accessing such data required a public records request, but the new tool proactively makes it available online. Developed by a software company called Civera, the tool cost $40,000 for development and entails ongoing licensing fees. Read Article

Michigan:Trump and multiple Republicans named ‘unindicted co-conspirators’ in fake electors case | Craig Mauger/The Detroit News

Testimony from an investigator for Attorney General Dana Nessel’s office revealed that former President Donald Trump, along with his aides Mark Meadows and Rudy Giuliani, are considered unindicted co-conspirators in Michigan’s false elector case. This came to light during preliminary examinations where Nessel’s office is pursuing felony charges against 16 Republican activists who signed a certificate falsely claiming Trump won Michigan’s 2020 election. The effort, also mirrored in Arizona, aimed to bolster claims of election fraud. While defense lawyers argue their clients were unaware of the implications of signing the certificate, prosecutors maintain it was part of a larger multi-state criminal conspiracy linked to Trump’s campaign. Read Article

Ohio Supreme Court to hear open meetings lawsuit centered on Stark County voting machines | Robert Wang/Canton Repository

The Ohio Supreme Court is set to hear arguments regarding whether the Stark County Board of Elections violated the state’s Open Meetings Act by privately deliberating the purchase of Dominion voting machines. Look Ahead America, the plaintiff in the lawsuit, argues that such closed-door meetings hinder the public’s right to know about officials’ decision-making processes. However, even if Look Ahead America wins, it won’t reverse Stark County’s acquisition and use of 1,450 Dominion Voting Machines ICX touch-screen machines, as the funding and contract for the purchase were authorized by the Stark County commissioners. Read Article

Pennsylvania’s redesigned mail ballot envelopes trip up many voters who left date incomplete | Carter Walker/Votebeat

A design change to Pennsylvania’s mail ballot return envelope aimed at reducing errors has led to rejected ballots in the primary, as voters fail to fill in the last two digits of the year despite the state’s new advice to count them. While the Department of State advised counties to accept these ballots, some reject them, citing discrepancies with existing court orders and concerns over the validity of the advice. Read Article

Texas: In Brazos County, elections officials shoulder new costs and burdens to appease skeptics | Natalia Contreras/The Texas Tribune

In Brazos County, concerns over election integrity have surfaced, fueled by suspicions and demands from residents advocating for hand-counted ballots. Despite county leaders and election officials assuring the public of the accuracy of elections, calls for ditching voting equipment persist, echoing claims of fraud in the 2020 election. In response to demands, the county plans to introduce sequentially numbered ballots, a move projected to cost $14,000 for the November election. However, experts caution that such measures may not enhance security and could compromise ballot secrecy. Read Article

Wisconsin election observers may have to keep their distance | Government | Erin McGroarty/The Cap Times

The Wisconsin Elections Commission is reviewing proposed rules regarding election observers, a critical issue given the state’s potential role in the upcoming presidential election. Republican lawmakers previously sought to grant observers closer access to polling proceedings, but Governor Tony Evers vetoed the bill due to concerns about potential intimidation of election workers. The commission’s draft rules maintain the current distance regulations, prompting some criticism from Republicans and residents who argue that observers need to be closer to effectively monitor for fraud. However, others, like Eileen Newcomer from the League of Women Voters, support the draft rules, emphasizing the need to balance transparency with ensuring voters’ rights without intimidation. Read Article

National: Election Data Is Vital to Voting Rights. So Why Is It So Hard to Track Down? | Dara Gold/Bolts

Voting rights lawyers like Michael Pernick from the NAACP Legal Defense Fund face significant hurdles due to the lack of a centralized database of precinct-level election returns in New York, making it difficult to analyze potential racial discrimination in local election rules. This absence forces practitioners to painstakingly collect data town by town, often facing resistance from local offices, hindering investigations and potentially impeding the enforcement of voting rights laws. While some states like Minnesota provide comprehensive precinct-level data, others present significant challenges, prompting initiatives like OpenElections and the MIT Election Lab to compile and standardize such information. Read Article

National: Push to hand-count ballots ramps up as election nears, fueled by outside aid | Rachel Leingang/Votebeat

Amidst claims of stolen elections and allegations of voting machine rigging, grassroots activists like Mark Cook are advocating for hand-counting ballots across the country, echoing sentiments from figures like Mike Lindell. Despite challenges and resistance from election experts, this push has gained traction in some rural and conservative-leaning areas, with counties in Missouri, Nevada, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Wisconsin opting for hand counts in either midterm or presidential primary elections. However, the process has proven to be time-consuming, costly, and prone to errors, with concerns raised about its impact on election accuracy and trust. Read Article

National: Noncitizen voting isn’t an issue in federal elections, regardless of conspiracy theories. Here’s why | Nicholas Riccardsi/Associated Press

Former President Donald Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson are reigniting claims about noncitizen voting in federal elections, with Johnson introducing a bill aimed at preventing noncitizens from voting. However, these claims have been debunked in the past, with no evidence of widespread noncitizen voting. Trump’s previous commission on the matter disbanded without identifying any cases of noncitizen voting, and various states’ examinations of their voter rolls have found very few instances. Despite this, Johnson plans to introduce legislation requiring proof of citizenship for voter registration, a move criticized for potentially disenfranchising eligible voters and risking erroneous exclusions. Read Article

National: Smartmatic settles lawsuit against One America News Network | Stephen Battaglio/Los Angeles Times

Smartmatic has settled its lawsuit against One America News Network (OAN), a right-wing cable channel based in San Diego, over false allegations of voter fraud during the 2020 presidential election, although details of the settlement remain undisclosed. The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, accused OAN of damaging Smartmatic’s business with misleading statements following the election. Smartmatic has also pursued legal action against other conservative outlets, including Fox News and Newsmax, over similar claims, with a $2.7-billion defamation suit against Fox News still pending. Read Article

National: AI-created election disinformation is deceiving the world | Ali Swenson and Kelvin Chan/Associated Press

Artificial intelligence is supercharging the threat of election disinformation worldwide, making it easy for anyone with a smartphone and a devious imagination to create fake – but convincing – content aimed at fooling voters. It marks a quantum leap from a few years ago, when creating phony photos, videos or audio clips required teams of people with time, technical skill and money. Now, using free and low-cost generative artificial intelligence services from companies like Google and OpenAI, anyone can create high-quality “deepfakes” with just a simple text prompt. Resad Article

National: After a sleepy primary season, Russia enters 2024 U.S. election fray | Derek B. Johnson/CyberScoop

Russian influence operations targeting the 2024 U.S. elections have surged in the past 45 days, primarily using Telegram to distribute propaganda aimed at influencing debate over Ukraine policy, as per Microsoft’s Threat Analysis Center. This late uptick, compared to previous election cycles, is attributed to a lack of competitive presidential primaries. Microsoft has identified multiple Russian-associated groups spreading content across languages to degrade support for Ukraine, portraying President Zelenskyy negatively and diminishing Western governments’ willingness to fund the war cause. These groups utilize Telegram channels as a distribution hub, posting content later picked up by seemingly unrelated news outlets. Read Article

Arizona: A Cochise County official’s vote for hand-counting ballots came at a cost. Will anyone help her pay it? | Jen Fifield/Votebeat

Arizona state Sen. Sonny Borrelli’s offer to cover legal expenses for counties conducting hand-counted elections ahead of 2024 prompts Cochise County Supervisor Peggy Judd to question if she’d receive similar support amid her legal battle following indictments for expanding hand-count audits in 2022. Despite promises of aid, Judd feels abandoned, reflecting a broader issue of officials facing legal battles without sufficient support. While Judd denies wrongdoing, she’s frustrated by perceived lack of assistance from proponents of hand counts, highlighting a broader trend of officials grappling with legal challenges and insufficient backing. Read Article

Colorado officials warn of new frontier in election denial as more Republicans refuse to certify vote totals | Nick Coltrainb/The Denver Post

Colorado election officials from both major parties say a typically innocuous step in the certification of vote totals has increasingly been seized upon by activists to cast doubt over state elections. Since 2020, a small but growing number of county canvass boards have had Republican members refuse to sign off on vote tallies, according to state records. Those objections haven’t jeopardized the actual certification of elections, and Colorado’s system has additional processes in place to stop rogue canvass boards from preventing the finalizing of results. But it serves as an ill omen of potential efforts to sow distrust in voting heading into this year’s primary and general elections, several state and county election officials said in interviews with The Denver Post. Read Article

Florida: Some elections observers just can’t be convinced | Mark Schneider/Palm Beach Post

Public testing of ballot counting machines in Palm Beach and Pinellas Counties, Florida, led to disruptions by observers, resulting in the canvassing boards deciding to only accept questions after testing rather than during. This change is unfortunate, as it limits transparency in the electoral process. Observers, fueled by suspicions of election rigging, have become increasingly hostile towards election procedures and equipment. Despite efforts to ensure security and transparency, including through training poll workers, doubts persist, suggesting that anger towards voting machines may continue until desired outcomes are achieved, highlighting challenges in maintaining trust in democracy. Read Article

Georgia election officials probe claims of Bibb County voting machine security breach | Stanley Dunlap/Georgia Recorder

The Georgia Secretary of State’s office is investigating Benjamin Cotton, an election security analyst linked to an alleged breach of the Coffee County voting system, following his claim of examining voting equipment in Macon-Bibb County. Cotton’s statement, made in sworn testimony, raised concerns about the security of Dominion Voting System components used in statewide elections in Georgia since 2020. Advocacy groups have urged an independent investigation into Bibb County’s voting system, highlighting similarities with a breach in Coffee County allegedly involving allies of Donald Trump. Macon-Bibb County election officials deny any illegal access to their voting machines, stating that only authorized personnel have been allowed access. Cotton’s attorney clarified that he examined a backup election database obtained through a public records request. Read Article

Michigan: Pushing election fraud theories, nonprofit spent $1.2 million in 2022 | Craig Mauger/The Detroit News

The America Project, a national nonprofit led by former Overstock.com CEO Patrick Byrne, disclosed in a recently filed tax document that it allocated $1.2 million in funding to lawyers and groups in Michigan during the 2022 election year. Among the beneficiaries were the law office of Stefanie Lambert, who faces felony charges related to the 2020 election, and a Waterford Township organization linked to Lambert. The filing, which didn’t provide detailed information on expenditures, raised concerns about efforts to perpetuate conspiracy theories regarding voter fraud, particularly in battleground states like Michigan. Despite bipartisan agreement within the State Board of Elections that the claims were baseless, the disclosure highlighted significant financial backing for initiatives challenging the integrity of the electoral process, even as claims of fraud remain unsubstantiated. Read Article

New Jersey: Federal appeals court upholds order barring county-line ballots | Nikita Biryukov/New Jersey Monitor

The Third Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a preliminary injunction preventing the use of county-line ballots in June’s Democratic primaries in New Jersey, rejecting a request from the Camden County Democratic Committee to overturn the ruling. The decision, stemming from a lawsuit initiated by U.S. Rep. Andy Kim and others, reinforces a lower court’s finding that the county-line ballot design is likely unconstitutional. Advocates for the injunction argue that the county-line system unfairly advantages party-backed candidates and discourages potential challengers. The ruling is seen as a significant win for progressives in New Jersey, signaling a shift away from what they view as an antidemocratic practice. Read Article

New York Court Dismisses ExpressVote XLChallenge | Madeleine Greenberg/Democracy Docket

A New York court has dismissed a lawsuit challenging the approval of the ExpressVote XL touch screen voting machine by the New York State Board of Elections. The lawsuit, filed by Common Cause New York, the Black Institute, and five New York voters in November 2023, alleged that the approval violated state law. The plaintiffs argued that the machine’s barcode system prevented voters from verifying their selections, potentially fueling election fraud conspiracy theories. However, the court ruled that the plaintiffs failed to demonstrate how they would be harmed by the approval of the machines, leading to the dismissal of the case. Read Article

North Carolina elections board, in bipartisan vote, shoots down ‘audit force’ allegations of election violations | Will Doran/WRAL

The North Carolina State Board of Elections unanimously dismissed claims made by Carol Snow, an election integrity activist affiliated with the NC Audit Force group, alleging violations of federal election law and voter fraud going unchecked in the state. Snow’s complaint, which cited discrepancies in voter lists and instances of duplicate voting, was refuted by state elections board staff who attributed the errors to mistakes or Snow’s lack of access to certain data. Despite the growing popularity of grassroots election integrity efforts among conservatives, particularly fueled by former President Trump’s allegations of voter fraud, the bipartisan agreement on the board deemed Snow’s claims baseless. Read Article

Pennsylvania: Missing voting machine documents raise concern about Northampton County’s testing processes | Carter Walker/Votebeat

bDuring a November election in Northampton County, voters encountered a concerning issue: votes intended for one judge appeared under another’s name on printed records, highlighting a programming error in the voting machines. Although this error didn’t affect the vote tabulation, it underscored the importance of rigorous pre-election testing. However, an investigation revealed that Northampton County’s testing documentation was incomplete, inconsistent, and sometimes missing altogether, making it challenging to verify proper testing. While the errors didn’t indicate machine malfunction or malfeasance, they risked undermining voter confidence and fueling conspiracy theories. In response, Read Article

Pennsylvania: What could trigger costly, time-consuming election recounts? 3 signatures and $50. | Bruce Siwy/Erie Times-News

Some organizations, like Better PA, advocate for changes to Pennsylvania’s recount system, citing concerns about potential post-election chaos and bad-faith efforts. John Jones III and others argue for more stringent rules to initiate recounts, emphasizing the need to avoid disruptions in the electoral certification process. While the current law allows for recounts under certain conditions, including a narrow margin between candidates, critics argue that the system lacks clarity and could lead to delays in certification. Better PA proposes several changes, such as increasing filing fees and requiring detailed allegations of fraud or error in the election. Despite these calls for reform, there’s currently no legislative action on the matter in Harrisburg, and the outlook for changes before the November general election appears unlikely. Read Article

Texas: Voting company makes ‘coercive’ demand of counties: Pay up or lose service before election | Nicholas Riccardi/Associated Press

The owner of a voting company, VOTEC, admitted to issuing a “coercive” demand to 32 Texas counties, urging them to pay an additional 35% surcharge for their voting registration system software or risk losing it just ahead of the November elections. John Medcalf, the owner, cited past payment delays and financial struggles, characterizing the demand as a plea for financial stability to retain key employees. While the surcharges have prompted urgency among Texas counties to approve payments or seek alternatives, VOTEC assured that existing contracts would be honored until their expiration, with Texas’ Secretary of State’s office providing consultation on available options. Read Article