Author Archives: Warren Stewart

National: A surge in violent threats against US public officials is disrupting American democracy | Rob Kuznia, Majlie de Puy Kamp, Alex Leeds Matthews, Kyung Lah, Anna-Maja Rappard and Yahya Abou-Ghazala/CNN

As the 2024 campaign revs up – and on the heels of indictments against the Republican frontrunner, former President Donald Trump, who has verbally attacked some of his courtroom adversaries – the ongoing onslaught of violent messages, particularly to federal lawmakers and other public officials, threatens to disrupt the American machinery of government. ... Threats have also recently targeted election officials. Last month, staff in election offices in several states received suspicious letters. One of them, in Washington state, contained fentanyl. ... CNN reviewed more than 540 cases involving people who have been federally charged with making threats against public officials or institutions between January 2013 and November 2023. Read Article

National: Voter advocates, conservative activists brace for 2024 election showdowns | Julia Harte and Tim Reid/Reuters

As the U.S. approaches the 2024 election, various groups are gearing up to address threats to voters' rights and concerns about potential electoral fraud. A non-partisan coalition plans to recruit over 20,000 volunteers for its "election protection" effort, while the Republican National Committee aims to train tens of thousands of poll watchers through its newly launched "Election Integrity Department." Despite widespread rejection of claims of voter fraud in the 2020 election, former President Donald Trump continues to assert baseless allegations. Recruitment drives are ongoing, and election officials anticipate potential clashes reminiscent of the 2020 election, prompting increased preparedness for disruptions. Read Article

National: America’s Election Officials Fight Disinformation and Death Threats Ahead of 2024 | Allison Mollenkamp/Just Security

Election administrators in the United States, including Karen Brinson Bell, Executive Director of the State Board of Elections in North Carolina, are facing unprecedented challenges, including death threats, harassment, and a barrage of public records requests, as they prepare for the 2024 elections. The threats are linked to the persistent disinformation surrounding the 2020 election, and administrators are also grappling with legal changes to voting systems, loss of institutional knowledge due to staff turnover, and the need to educate voters about evolving election rules. Efforts to counter disinformation include engaging with the public through various channels, but the increasing demands and hostile environment are taking a toll on election officials, leading to high turnover rates and concerns about the upcoming elections. Read Article

National: Ignoring questions about election problems will fuel doubts and baseless allegations | Jessica Huseman/Votebeat

The aftermath of the 2023 Election Day has seen increased scrutiny and baseless allegations of fraud, with figures like Abe Hamadeh, a Republican candidate in Arizona, tweeting about errors in Pennsylvania and elsewhere to support claims of mass fraud and errors. There's a growing spotlight on county election administration, exemplified by incidents like widespread ballot-printing errors in Northampton County, Pennsylvania. The responses to such errors vary, with Northampton County responding promptly and providing clarifications, while Hinds County, Mississippi, faced ballot shortages and offered inadequate explanations. Read Article

National: Voting companies go to court over 2020 election claims as Trump returns to the ballot  | Jane C. Timm/NBC

Voting machine companies Dominion Voting Systems and Smartmatic are set to return to court in 2024, filing separate lawsuits alleging defamation against Fox News, Newsmax, Trump lawyers Sidney Powell and Rudy Giuliani, and MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell. The litigation could involve depositions or testimony from former Trump aides and allies, reveal new evidence about false claims of election rigging, and remind voters of Trump's attempts to overturn the 2020 election results. The trials, including Dominion's case against Fox News and Newsmax, and Smartmatic's case against Lindell and Newsmax, are scheduled for 2024, potentially affecting the election season. Read Article

Election Night Hand Counts: Realities and Risks | Verified Voting

A new report published by Verified Voting examines misguided proposals to eliminate all vote counting machines and move to hand counting all ballots on election night that would have far reaching implications for our trust in our elections. Elections are a combination of people, processes, and technology. Human oversight of election processes is integral to ensuring that voting technology works correctly and that votes are counted as cast. “Hand to eye” examination of ballots in audits and recounts are quality control checks that carefully and transparently assess that voting technology got the election outcome right—or correct the outcome if it did not—and give voters justified confidence in election outcomes. But that best practice does not translate to humans hand counting millions of votes on election night. The paper examines the risks of full election night hand counts, explains when hand counts should be used, and emphasizes why common-sense best practices that employ voting machines and post-election audits make our election outcomes verifiable and resilient. Read Report

National: In face of threats, election workers say: ‘You are not disrupting the democratic process’ | Matt Vasilogambros/Stateline

Local election workers across the nation are facing increased threats and intimidation, with lies about rigged elections and the 2020 presidential outcome fueling conspiracy theories. In response to these ongoing threats, state lawmakers in several states, including Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, and Oklahoma, have enacted new protections for election workers and increased penalties for those who harass or threaten them. However, the exodus of election officials due to safety concerns raises concerns about the potential for errors and increased vulnerability to conspiracy theories. Read Article

National: Ballot shortages are rare in U.S. elections, but here’s why they sometimes happen | Ashley Lopez/NPR

Ballot shortages at some polling locations in Mississippi, along with instances in Ohio and Texas, underscore the challenge election officials face in determining the number of ballots needed. In Mississippi, a surge in voter turnout caught officials unprepared, resulting in shortages, long lines, and some individuals walking away. Determining how many ballots to print is described as an "inexact science," involving estimates based on past turnout. The costs of mistakes can be high, with states like Mississippi having laws about the minimum number of ballots to print, leading to potential waste. The absence of early voting or no-excuse absentee voting in some states complicates the task, emphasizing the importance of accurate planning to safeguard election integrity. Read Article

National: How election officials are planning to avoid a repeat of 2020’s slow vote count | Zach Montellaro/Politico

In preparation for the 2024 elections, several battleground states in the United States are taking measures to speed up the counting of votes to avoid the prolonged uncertainty experienced in 2020. New laws and procedures aim to facilitate quicker counting and processing, minimizing the time between polls closing and unofficial results being announced. States are allowing more pre-processing of mail ballots before Election Day, enhancing efficiency and expediting the release of results. While some states have made significant changes to improve the speed of ballot counting, others, such as Pennsylvania, still face challenges and partisan disputes. The goal is to reduce the period of uncertainty, limiting the potential for misinformation and false claims about the election outcome. Read Article

National: Federal government stops helping Big Tech spot foreign meddling amid GOP legal threats | Naomi Nix and Cat Zakrzewski/The Washington Post

The U.S. government has ceased notifying social networks, including Meta, about foreign disinformation campaigns on their platforms, disrupting a longstanding practice aimed at preventing interference in American politics. This change, attributed to a conservative legal campaign challenging initiatives established after the 2016 election, involves a reduction in communications about global influence campaigns. The shift is linked to a July ruling limiting the Biden administration's communications with tech platforms in response to a lawsuit, Missouri v. Biden, which alleges that coordination violates the First Amendment. The legal uncertainty is causing foreign policy officials to hesitate in their communications with tech companies. Read Article

National: Ahead of 2024 election, Meta worries about lack of information on top-tier nation-state covert operations | AJ Vicens/CyberScoop

Meta, the parent company of Facebook, has warned that foreign governments, particularly Russia, Iran and China, are likely to continue running inauthentic messaging campaigns via fake social media accounts leading up to elections worldwide in 2024. In a new report, Meta officials expressed concern that the U.S. government has stopped proactively sharing information with the company and other social networking platforms, which has been a crucial source of information about major, nation-state influence operations in the past. Meta's report also highlighted its efforts to combat inauthentic accounts and campaigns, pointing out that it had identified and neutralized three covert influence campaigns in the third quarter, two from China and one from Russia. Read Article