Texas law abolishing Harris County elections office goes into effect | Jen Rice/Houston Chronicle

Harris County Clerk Teneshia Hudspeth and Harris County Tax Assessor-Collector Ann Harris Bennett have assumed responsibility for running elections and voter registration following the implementation of a new Texas state law that abolished the elections administrator’s office in Harris County. Senate Bill 1750, which applies only to Harris County, eliminates the appointed elections administrator role and reverts the duties for overseeing elections to the county clerk and voter registration to the tax assessor-collector. A separate law, Senate Bill 1933, allows the state to remove elected officials if a “recurring pattern of problems” is not addressed. Critics argue that these changes are politically motivated and may hinder voter access. Read Article

Wisconsin voters caught in the middle as misinformation takes on education | Alice Herman/The Guardian

In Wisconsin, two distinct groups of activists are engaged in campaigns concerning the state’s election system. One, led by former Republican state senator Kathy Bernier, seeks to restore trust in election administration and results, while the other, North of 29, rejects the 2020 election results and spreads false claims of widespread voter fraud, advocating for a return to hand-counting ballots. The persistent misinformation regarding elections, driven by political polarization and prominent figures, has created an environment where both groups can draw in voters, leading to concerns among voting rights advocates about the trend toward hand-counting ballots based on conspiracy theories. Read Article

National: Cybersecurity experts say the west has failed to learn lessons from Ukraine | Mehul Srivatsava/Ars Technica

Ukraine’s success in defending against Russian cyberattacks during its conflict with Russia has been acknowledged and studied by Western nations, including the United States. However, experts argue that the West has struggled to replicate the collaborative and fast-moving responses that were key to Ukraine’s success. Regulatory and legal roadblocks, as well as a reluctance to share sensitive or embarrassing information, have hindered efforts to defend against cyber threats. Some believe that radical transparency, where organizations openly share information about breaches and threats, could be a more effective approach. The fear of escalation in cyber conflicts is also a factor influencing responses to cyber threats. Read Article

National: State election officials studying whether 14th Amendment disqualifies ‘insurrectionist’ Trump from ballot | Marshall Cohen/CNN

Election officials in key battleground states are exploring the legal possibilities of disqualifying Donald Trump from running for president under the 14th Amendment, which prohibits insurrectionists from holding public office. While the Constitution doesn’t outline how to enforce this ban, it has only been used twice since the late 1800s, mainly against former Confederates. Officials in New Hampshire and Michigan are examining this provision’s potential applicability to the upcoming presidential election, and they may act in concert with other key states. Liberal activists and constitutional scholars previously tried to disqualify lawmakers using the 14th Amendment but faced limited success. Protracted legal battles are expected if officials pursue this route to disqualify Trump. Read Article

Did data from Georgia voting machine breach play role in alleged Michigan election plot? | Clara Hendrickson/Detroit Free Press

A drive containing data from voting equipment in Georgia was shipped to an investigator in Michigan who seized five ballot tabulators for a pro-Trump lawyer as part of an alleged scheme to illegally obtain Michigan voting machines, according to court testimony and documents. This revelation raises questions about how data from a voting system breach in Georgia may have been used in experiments on Michigan voting machines. Stefanie Lambert, a lawyer aligned with former President Donald Trump, is at the center of this alleged scheme. Separate criminal cases in the two states may reveal new connections between efforts to scrutinize voting machines used in the 2020 election. Read Article

National: Election workers have gotten death threats and warnings they will be lynched, the US government says | Lyndsay Whitehurst and Christina A. Cassidy/Associated Press

More than a dozen individuals have been charged by a US Justice Department unit focused on preventing violent threats against election workers, as government employees face ongoing threats, even during non-election periods, largely fueled by false claims about the 2020 election. Experts worry that the situation could worsen in the lead-up to the 2024 election and call for greater protection of election workers. The task force, created in 2021, has filed 14 cases so far, with two resulting in prison sentences. Threats against election workers are making it increasingly difficult to retain experienced personnel, which could pose challenges for the 2024 election. Read Article

National: Nearly every battleground state is at risk of election denialism interfering in 2024 | Brian Hinkle/The Fulcrum

More than two-thirds of American voters live in states at moderate or high risk of election denialism jeopardizing future elections. The threats posed by election denialism include interference in election offices, harassment and violence against election officials, and disinformation campaigns. The article suggests several policy solutions for states to counter these threats, including enacting statewide voting rights acts, implementing stronger nonpartisan election administration policies, protecting election officials, and increasing transparency measures. It emphasizes the importance of addressing election denialism to protect and strengthen democracy in the United States. Read Article

National: Mr. Bot goes to Washington: AI will change American elections, but not in the obvious way | The Economist

The use of AI-generated deepfakes in political campaigns, while raising concerns about manipulation and disinformation, may not have a significant impact on elections, according to experts. Research suggests that most voters are immune to persuasion, whether by fake or truthful news, and tend to view political messages as spam. Moreover, social media is not the primary source of news for many people, and they often distrust any political content they encounter online. While AI-generated deepfakes could influence elections by saturating social media with misleading information, they are more likely to reinforce existing beliefs rather than change minds. However, AI could make spreading such content more cost-effective and sophisticated. Read Article

Opinion: Need Better Election Security? The Feds Can Help. | Derek Bowens and Scott McDonell/Governing

Two local election officials from different parts of the United States emphasize the importance of accessing federal election security resources as they prepare for the 2024 presidential election. They mention that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) designated election infrastructure as critical infrastructure in 2017, allowing DHS’ Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) to offer free services and resources to improve election resiliency against cyber and physical threats. These resources include physical security assessments and recommendations. The officials highlight the need for these resources as election officials face security concerns, including threats and incidents. They stress that accessing federal resources can help improve the security of election buildings and support safer and more secure elections. Read Article

Arizona: In court, Trump supporter faces election official he violently threatened | Yvonne Wingett Sanchez/The Washington Post

Clint Hickman, a Republican who serves as chairman of the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors in Arizona, endured threats and harassment after certifying Trump’s loss in Arizona in 2020. Mark Rissi, who threatened Hickman and the state’s former attorney general, faced federal prosecutors and was sentenced to 30 months in prison, highlighting how individuals who embraced violence or threats due to election denialism are now facing legal consequences. The case reflects the broader challenges facing democracy and the efforts to deter threats against public officials involved in election processes. Read Article

Arizona: Are ballot envelopes public record? Kari Lake voter challenge to be heard in court | Stacey Barchenger/Arizona Republic

Former Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake has been granted a two-day trial in September to review the signatures of about 1.3 million Maricopa County residents who voted early in the 2020 election. Lake has argued that the signatures on the green affidavit envelopes voters use to return their early ballots are a public record, while the county contends they are not subject to public review. Lake, who lost the race for governor but continues to claim she is the rightful governor and a victim of a rigged election, has used this case to support her baseless election fraud claims. Read Article

Colorado: Georgia indictment shows that alleged crimes in Coffee County were ‘template’ for Mesa County | Quentin Young/Colorado Newsline

The recent indictment of former President Donald Trump and others in Georgia, which alleges a conspiracy to overturn the 2020 election, has ties to Colorado. Colorado’s connection to this alleged conspiracy is revealed through several aspects of the indictment. Specifically, the indictment mentions security breaches involving Dominion Voting Systems equipment, similar to what occurred in Colorado’s Mesa County. Some of the same figures and actors are also involved in both cases. The Georgia indictment highlights a larger conspiracy involving multiple states, underscoring the ongoing threat to democracy as the country approaches the 2024 presidential election. Read Article

Connecticut: ‘Time is not on our side’: Secretary of State expresses urgency in quest for new voting equipment | John Moritz/CT Insider

Connecticut’s plans to modernize its election infrastructure by purchasing over 3,000 new tabulators might not be ready for the 2024 elections unless officials approve borrowing for the machines soon, according to Secretary of the State Stephanie Thomas. A proposed $24.5 million bond package for new equipment and poll worker training, approved by lawmakers in June, awaits final approval from the State Bond Commission. The cancellation of the commission’s August meeting has raised concerns about the timeline, and Thomas hopes to introduce the new machines during the state primary election next August. The current tabulators are outdated and prone to issues, with the planned new models offering enhanced security features and efficiency. Read Article

Georgia: Judge rules for Fulton election workers in Giuliani defamation lawsuit | David Wickert/The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

A federal judge has ruled that Rudy Giuliani is liable in a defamation lawsuit brought by two former Fulton County election workers, affirming the claim that Giuliani defamed election workers Ruby Freeman and Wandrea “Shaye” Moss when he accused them of committing fraud during the 2020 presidential election. The case will now proceed to trial to determine whether Giuliani should pay damages for spreading false claims. Giuliani has been accused of making willful false statements about the two women, and his refusal to turn over documents in the case resulted in a default judgment against him. This ruling comes as Giuliani, former President Donald Trump, and others face criminal charges related to their efforts to overturn the 2020 election results. Read Article

Iowa: Voters in Warren County reject GOP-appointed auditor who posted about 2020 election doubts | Hannah Fingerhut/Associated Press

A Republican-controlled board in an Iowa county appointed David Whipple, a fellow Republican with no experience running elections and who had questioned the legitimacy of the 2020 presidential contest, as county auditor, leading to outrage among local Democrats. In a special election, voters in Warren County overwhelmingly chose Kimberly Sheets, a Democrat who had served in the auditor’s office, over Whipple, indicating a desire for voters to have a say in the candidate for such an important office and a stand against perceived overreach by local government. Read Article

New York Board of Elections warns of impersonators coming to homes | Justin Velasquez/Spectrum News

Republican commissioner Michele Sardo and Democratic commissioner Dustin Czarny of the Onondaga County Board of Elections are united against individuals impersonating their office staff and questioning voters about their registrations, considering it a vile act of fraud. They clarified that such impersonators are likely misunderstanding voter-registration rules, as voter registrations can lapse when people move but aren’t automatically illegal as long as voters aren’t registered in two different counties. The Board of Elections aims to ensure secure and accurate elections and underlined that they never send staff to people’s homes. An investigation is underway, and the New York State Board of Elections urged citizens to report such incidents to local law enforcement. Read Article

North Dakota: Proposed ballot measure looks to overhaul elections, remove voting machines | Jacob Fulton/The Bismarck Tribune

A group of residents in North Dakota has filed a petition with the Secretary of State’s office for a proposed constitutional measure that could lead to significant changes in the state’s electoral process. The proposed changes include replacing voting machines with hand-counted paper ballots and restricting mail-in voting by requiring all mail-in ballots to be received by 8 p.m. on the day before the election. The initiative must gather over 31,000 valid voter signatures to make it onto the ballot, with hopes of inclusion in either the June primary or the November 2024 general election. Read Article

Texas: Harris County Commissioners Court to hold public discussion on elections office transition ahead of November | Jen Rice/Houston Chronicle

Harris County Commissioners Court is preparing for a public discussion about a significant reorganization of elections administration duties ahead of the November election. The reorganization follows the implementation of a new state law that abolishes the Elections Administrator’s office and transfers the responsibility of running elections and voter registration to the Harris County Clerk and Harris County Tax Assessor-Collector. Commissioners Court is also expected to vote on the distribution of elections office staff positions, with 131 positions going to the county clerk’s office and 39 positions to the tax assessor-collector’s office. This transition has been criticized for its lack of transparency, and it comes after a series of challenges and changes in election leadership within Harris County. Read Article

Wisconsin’s nonpartisan elections director has bipartisan support. She may be driven out anyway. | Zach Montellaro/Politico

Wisconsin Republicans are seeking to remove the state’s nonpartisan elections director, Meagan Wolfe, ahead of the upcoming presidential primary, raising concerns about election integrity. The state Senate is holding a hearing to remove Wolfe, with Democrats alleging that Republicans are retaliating against her for decisions made by the Wisconsin Elections Commission in 2020. This highlights the ongoing impact of election misinformation in Wisconsin, a key swing state, even years after former President Donald Trump’s false claims of a stolen election in 2020. Read Article

Wisconsin: Election conspiracists testify at disputed confirmation hearing for Elections Commission administrator | Henry Redman/Wisconsin Examiner

A Wisconsin Senate elections committee hearing on the disputed confirmation of the Wisconsin Elections Commission (WEC) Administrator Meagan Wolfe turned into a platform for election conspiracy theories and attacks against Wolfe. Wolfe’s four-year term expired at the end of June, but the three Democratic appointees on the WEC abstained from voting on her renomination, preventing the vote from receiving the four votes traditionally required for a motion to pass the body. While the dispute is likely to be decided in court, the hearing brought prominent election deniers and conspiracy theorists to testify against Wolfe’s reappointment, with little pushback from the committee chair, Sen. Dan Knodl (R-Germantown). Read Article

National: Violent threats, racist messages: Bipartisan officials call the aftermath of the 2020 election ‘terrifying’ | Sudiksha Kochi/USA Today

Officials from various states have reported receiving threats and facing intimidation from supporters of former President Donald Trump after the 2020 election. For instance, Philadelphia City Commissioner Omar Sabir faced threats and had to change his daily routines due to concerns for his safety. Arizona House Speaker Rusty Bowers received threats after refusing to reject the 2020 election results, and Republican Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and his family received threats as well. Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel also expressed concerns about threats and a plot to overturn the results of the election in her state. These incidents shed light on the consequences of the false claims of election fraud and the pressure campaign that followed the 2020 election. Read Article

Pennsylvania will track voting machine malfunctions under new settlement with election security groups | Carter Walker/Votebeat Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania’s Department of State has settled a lawsuit with election security groups that will require counties to publicly report voting machine malfunctions, potentially becoming the first such initiative in the U.S. This measure is seen as a way to enhance transparency, improve efficiency, and counter election misinformation. The settlement follows a lawsuit by election groups against the state, claiming that some counties adopted flawed voting machines. The settlement agreement also requires better public access to voting equipment examination processes and mandates that three counties using the voting machine in question upgrade to its latest software. The new reporting requirement is set to begin with this November’s municipal election. Read Article

National: Federal judge rejects bids to halt Georgia prosecution of Trump aides over 2020 election | Kyle Cheney and Josh Gerstein/Politico

A federal judge rejected the emergency filings made by former Trump administration officials Mark Meadows and Jeffrey Clark, ensuring that they will face arrest this week. Meadows and Clark, who are charged with former President Donald Trump in a racketeering conspiracy to undermine the results of the 2020 election, had requested the court to prohibit the arrest by a Friday deadline, arguing that their cases should be handled and dismissed by federal courts due to their work for the Trump administration. The judge ruled that state proceedings can continue while the federal court considers whether to shift the case to the federal system. This is part of a broader case by District Attorney Fani Willis to prosecute the 2020 election subversion conspiracy. Read Article

National: In Trump cases, experts say defendant’s rhetoric will be hard to police | Devlin Barrett, Spencer S. Hsu, Isaac Arnsdorf/The Washington Post

The challenge of keeping politics out of a criminal prosecution becomes particularly difficult when politicians are both the alleged perpetrators and the candidates for higher office. In the case of the 2020 election obstruction charges against former President Donald Trump, U.S. District Judge Tanya S. Chutkan’s efforts to prevent political influences from affecting the case are met with significant complexities. Trump’s political activity and rhetoric during his candidacy could potentially hinder the fair progression of legal proceedings. Balancing the protection of the judicial process with First Amendment rights and potential voter influence proves to be a challenging endeavor for the judge. Read Article

National: This issue could knock Trump off ballots nationwide. Get ready for it to dominate primary season | David Lauter/Los Angeles Times

Efforts are underway to use Section 3 of the 14th Amendment to bar Donald Trump from running for office, citing his conduct during the Capitol attack. Section 3 disqualifies individuals from office if they’ve engaged in “insurrection.” This provision has been receiving renewed attention as conservative legal scholars argue that Trump’s behavior aligns with its meaning. Liberal legal groups have started researching state laws and working with voters to challenge Trump’s access to the ballot. The challenges are likely to come towards the end of this year and early next year, possibly leading to a Supreme Court showdown, which could significantly disrupt the primary season. Read Article

National: Republicans want the next GOP president to curb election security agency that angered Trump | Laura Gersony/ABC

In preparation for a potential Republican victory in the next U.S. presidential election, an influential group of Republicans, under the initiative called Project 2025 led by the Heritage Foundation think tank, is proposing to scale back the federal government’s oversight of online misinformation. The proposal specifically targets the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), a part of the Department of Homeland Security focused on guarding critical infrastructure, including election systems. Project 2025 recommends ending CISA’s efforts to counter misinformation and disinformation, arguing that the federal government shouldn’t be the “arbiter of truth.” Critics, including some democracy experts, are concerned that such a move could hamper efforts to address false information online and its potential impacts on democracy. Read Article

National: To Protect Elections, Protect Researchers | Center for Democracy and Technology

The Center for Democracy & Technology (CDT) underscores the crucial role that independent election integrity researchers play in identifying and mitigating threats to free and fair elections, including foreign influence operations, domestic disinformation, and cyberattacks on election infrastructure. However, these researchers are facing unprecedented obstacles and attacks, including lawsuits, hostile political actors, limited access to platform data, and platforms’ reduced commitment to online trust and safety. The CDT emphasizes that election integrity researchers are essential for evidence-based policymaking and complement the research conducted by platforms themselves. With the upcoming convergence of major elections globally, the spread of generative AI, and increasing political attacks on researchers’ work, the CDT calls for support and empowerment of these researchers, suggesting actions by funders, governments, and platforms to ensure their ability to combat election disinformation and safeguard democracy. Read Article

Arizona: Cochise County votes no on extending controversial ballot paper security pilot | Jen Fifield/Votebeat Arizona

Cochise County in Arizona has voted against extending a $1 million state grant that would have allowed them to work with Authentix, a company partnered with former state Rep. Mark Finchem, to test security features on ballots, including watermarks and special ink. The decision means that County Recorder David Stevens will only be able to use supplies he had already ordered from another company, Runbeck Election Services, for the pilot testing. Authentix has been linked to Stevens through personal connections, and some residents expressed concerns about the contract, believing it to be unnecessary and potentially tied to political favoritism. This decision follows controversies around the county’s election processes, including disputes over hand-counting ballots and claims of fraud. Read Article

Arizona Supreme Court rules against attorney seeking to void 2022 election | Howard Fischer/Arizona Capitol Times

The Arizona Supreme Court has rejected an attempt to void the results of the entire 2022 election. A Scottsdale attorney, Ryan Heath, had asked the court to order Maricopa County to redo the process used to verify signatures on early ballot envelopes. However, the court ruled that only those involved in the original lawsuit have the legal right to appeal the trial court’s decision and that Heath’s legal relief sought, which is an order to redo the 2022 election or revisit the ballots, is only appropriate when there are no facts in dispute, which is not the case here. Read Article

Georgia Trump indictment invokes justice for election workers | Ella Lee and Rebecca Deitsch/The Hill

The indictment in Georgia covering former President Trump’s efforts to overturn the state’s 2020 election includes references to poll worker Ruby Freeman, who was accused by Trump and his attorney Rudy Giuliani of mishandling ballots and subsequently faced threats. The indictment highlights the harassment campaign against Freeman and her daughter, Shaye Moss, and underscores the impact on individuals beyond just the voters in the state whose will Trump sought to deny. The indictment takes seriously the harassment of election workers and considers the human cost of Trump and his allies’ alleged actions, creating a racial component to the case due to the involvement of white, powerful men intimidating Black women. Read Article