National

Covert Chinese accounts are posing as American supporters of former President Donald J. Trump, engaging in online activities to promote conspiracy theories, exacerbate domestic divisions, and attack President Biden ahead of the upcoming November election, according to researchers and government officials. This strategy marks a potential shift in China’s approach to influencing American politics, aiming to exploit partisan divides and undermine the Biden administration’s policies. Researchers have identified a network of accounts associated with the Chinese government, which have been posting content in English to attract genuine engagement, presenting a more subtle and sophisticated approach compared to previous efforts. Read Article

National: Election workers face thousands of threats – so why so few prosecutions? | Ed Pilkington/The Guardian

James Clark’s intoxicated decision to send a bomb threat to Arizona’s top election official in the midst of online debate surrounding Donald Trump’s false election claims sparked panic and led to the establishment of the election threats taskforce by the US Department of Justice. As threats against election officials surged post-Trump’s election lie, the taskforce aims to protect these officials from violence and intimidation, focusing on criminal prosecutions while navigating legal complexities. Despite challenges in identifying and prosecuting perpetrators, the taskforce seeks to deter threats and improve coordination with local authorities, especially as the November elections approach amidst continued election denial. Read Article

National: States move to shore up voting rights protections after courts erode federal safeguards | Steve Karnowski/Associated Press

In response to an appeals court ruling restricted lawsuits under Section 2 of the federal Voting Rights Act, several states are moving to enact state-level protections to address gaps left by the decision, as national legislation remains stalled in Congress. Democratic-led states like Minnesota, Michigan, Maryland, New Jersey, and Florida are pursuing their own voting rights acts, following the examples of New York and Connecticut. These state acts aim to counter efforts by Republican lawmakers to erode safeguards under the guise of protecting election integrity, particularly amid former President Trump’s false claims of voter fraud. Read Article

National: AI is creating ‘more sophisticated’ but not unprecedented election threats, DHS official says | Edward Graham/Nextgov/FCW

Artificial intelligence tools are exacerbating cyber threats to election systems and personnel and helping to spread more sophisticated misinformation about the voting process but are not yet presenting novel risks to election infrastructure, according to a top Department of Homeland Security official. Speaking at an event at the Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank, Iranga Kahangama — assistant secretary for cyber, infrastructure, risk and resilience at DHS — said AI will lead to “some more sophisticated, more precise attempts” by nefarious actors to interfere with future elections, but added that officials “see artificial intelligence in the election space as not necessarily introducing a new threat or risk in and of itself.” Read Article

National: Chinese hackers turn to AI to meddle in elections | Derek B. Johnson/CyberScoop

Chinese government-linked hacking groups are increasingly using deepfakes and other AI-generated content to interfere in foreign elections, according to new research from Microsoft. While traditional methods like fake social media accounts are still utilized, China is exploring newer tools like AI-generated imagery to spread disinformation. Microsoft observed Chinese disinformation actors employing AI-manipulated images to fuel conspiracy theories in the United States, notably targeting incidents like a train derailment in Kentucky and wildfires in Maui. Read Article

National: ‘Grave step backwards’: Meta shuts monitoring tool in election year | Anuj Chopra and Arthur MacMillan/AFP

Meta, Facebook’s parent company, plans to decommission CrowdTangle, a crucial digital tool for tracking viral misinformation, just months before the US election, leaving researchers concerned about the potential disruption in efforts to combat political falsehoods. CrowdTangle has provided real-time transparency into the spread of misinformation on Meta-owned platforms like Facebook and Instagram, but Meta’s decision to replace it with a new tool, the Content Library, is seen as lacking in functionality and transparency. The move is viewed as a step backward in social media platform transparency, especially during a year with numerous elections globally. Read Article

National: A high-level election security group is back. NSA and Cyber Command want to keep it under the radar | Martin Matishak/The Record

U.S. Cyber Command and the National Security Agency will not identify the latest leaders of their joint election security task force, in part to shield them from the threats and harassment other election officials have received for merely being associated with such work. In a departure from previous election cycles, neither organization will publicize the names of the co-chiefs of the Election Security Group (ESG) because of the often-hostile environment surrounding U.S. elections since the 2020 presidential race, Recorded Future News has learned. The identities also are being withheld, government sources said, as part of a larger push by top U.S. national security and law enforcement officials to convey that election security is a whole-of-government effort and therefore public messaging on the charged topic should be driven by agency chiefs — such as the Director of National Intelligence or the head of the FBI — and not bureaucratic entities or career employees. Read Article

National: Election Workers Face Challenges but There Is Help | Jule Pattison-Gordon/Government Technology

Election workers face a multitude of challenges, from physical threats to cyber attacks to misinformation, requiring thorough preparation and support from state and national election groups. Mark Earley from Leon County, Fla., emphasized the value of having a Continuity of Operations Plan (COOP) after a scare with white powder in a mail-in ballot. COOP plans should include comprehensive contacts lists to address various incidents effectively. Read Article

National: How state lawmakers, election officials are fighting AI deepfakes | Sophia Fox-Sowell/StateScoop

States are racing to pass legislation that targets the production of AI-generated deepfakes in an effort to curb deceptive information practices ahead of the 2024 presidential election, new research shows. … Megan Bellamy, vice president of law and policy at Voting Rights Lab, said some of these laws aim to provide transparency around AI-generated content, while others seek to penalize those that use AI to intentionally mislead voters. “2024 is the first American presidential election year at the intersection of election-related myths and disinformation that have been on the rise and the rapid growth of AI-generated content,” Bellamy told StateScoop in a recent interview about Voting Rights Lab’s legislative analysis, which was released Tuesday. Read Article

National: Justice Department: crackdown on threats to election officials won’t relent | Josh Gerstein/Politico

Just as another election season gets into full swing, the Justice Department is vowing not to relent in its crackdown on a wave of threats unleashed against voting administrators and other public officials over the past two election cycles. About 20 such prosecutions have been brought since DOJ formed an Election Threats Task Force in June 2021, with many of the defendants receiving substantial prison time, prosecutors said. Read Article

National: The Deepfake Threat to the 2024 US Presidential Election | Ella Busch and Jacob Ware/GNET

As the 2024 US election campaign ramps up, artificial intelligence (AI) and deepfakes are already having a corrosive effect on the democratic process. In the New Hampshire Democratic primary, an artificially generated robocall purported to represent President Biden telling his voters not to participate in the primary. “Voting this Tuesday only enables the Republicans in their quest to elect Donald Trump again,” the faux Biden declared. “Your vote makes a difference in November, not this Tuesday.” Read Article

National: The Critical Role Of Cybersecurity In Election Years | Emil Sayegh/Forbes

As election season heats up, we are navigating through a multitude of issues within our deeply divided society. While politicians often campaign on platforms shaped by fear or designed to appeal to special interest voting blocs, we rarely see politics directly intertwined with cybersecurity. Yet, in election years—especially this one—the topic of cybersecurity assumes unprecedented importance. Read Article

National: Critical federal election administration grant funding struggles through Congress | Carrie Levine/Votebeat

Despite elections being declared critical infrastructure, federal funding allocated to states and territories through the U.S. Election Assistance Commission has dwindled in recent years, creating uncertainty and challenges for election officials. With Congress allocating only $55 million for grants this fiscal year, significantly less than the $400 million recommended by the Bipartisan Policy Center, election offices face difficulties in planning investments and addressing the growing complexity and cost of elections. Read Article

National: How Trump’s Allies Are Winning the War Over Disinformation | Jim Rutenberg and Steven Lee Myers/The New York Times

In the wake of the riot on Capitol Hill on Jan. 6, 2021, a groundswell built in Washington to rein in the onslaught of lies that had fueled the assault on the peaceful transfer of power. Social media companies suspended Donald J. Trump, then the president, and many of his allies from the platforms they had used to spread misinformation about his defeat and whip up the attempt to overturn it. The Biden administration, Democrats in Congress and even some Republicans sought to do more to hold the companies accountable. Academic researchers wrestled with how to strengthen efforts to monitor false posts. Mr. Trump and his allies embarked instead on a counteroffensive, a coordinated effort to block what they viewed as a dangerous effort to censor conservatives. Read Article

National: How Can Government Fight Back Against Disinformation? | Jule Pattison-Gordon/Government Technology

With deepfaked disinformation already plaguing this election year, a panel of experts assembled by the Brookings Institution recently debated how government can play defense, with an eye toward action that stands up in court. So far this year, at least 14 states have introduced bills that address AI-generated election disinformation. The proposals take various approaches, but many would require disclosing use of generative AI. Some ban spreading AI-fabricated election content within a certain time frame before an election while others require a disclaimer and some the depicted individual’s consent. These measures are legally promising, because courts are unlikely to view them as conflicting with the First Amendment, said Shana Broussard, commissioner of the Federal Election Commission (FEC), during the Brookings panel. Read Article

National: GOP attorneys general charge into battle over state election rules | Zachary Roth/News From The States

Republican attorneys general have filed court briefs advocating actions such as discarding certain mail ballots, weakening protections against racial discrimination in voting, approving gerrymandered district maps, and empowering partisan state legislatures to set election rules instead of courts. This involvement reflects a broader trend of increased politicization of their roles, particularly among Republican AGs, who are actively challenging voting protections and advancing conservative legal arguments, potentially impacting the fairness of elections. Read Article

National: Election misinformation is a problem in any language. But some gets more attention than others | David Klepper/Associated Press

Warnings about deepfakes and disinformation fueled by artificial intelligence. Concerns about campaigns and candidates using social media to spread lies about elections. Fears that tech companies will fail to address these issues as their platforms are used to undermine democracy ahead of pivotal elections. Those are the worries facing elections in the U.S., where most voters speak English. But for languages like Spanish, or in dozens of nations where English isn’t the dominant language, there are even fewer safeguards in place to protect voters and democracy against the corrosive effects of election misinformation. It’s a problem getting renewed attention in an election year in which more people than ever will go to the polls. Read Article

National: How far-right conspiracy theories threw this voter integrity system into peril | Erin Mansfield/USA Today

When a far-right disinformation campaign targeted a little-known data tool that helps states update their voter files, people lit up election officials’ phone lines and inboxes. The conspiracy theories accused the program, called Electronic Registration Information Center, or ERIC, of trying to manipulate votes, and falsely painted a prominent Democratic donor as a shadowy financier pulling the organization’s strings. “It kind of went viral,” said Michael Adams, Kentucky’s Republican secretary of state. “And so, suddenly, I’m getting all kinds of messages. The legislators I’m working with are getting all kinds of messages. And everyone’s panicking.” The messages, Adams said, were “just Kookytown.” Read Article

National: Fearing political violence, more states ban firearms at polling places | Matt Vasilogambros/Stateline

Facing increased threats to election workers and superheated political rhetoric from former President Donald Trump and his supporters, more states are considering firearm bans at polling places and ballot drop boxes ahead of November’s presidential election. This month, New Mexico became the latest state to restrict guns where people vote or hand in ballots, joining at least 21 other states with similar laws — some banning either open or concealed carry but most banning both. Nine of those prohibitions were enacted in the past two years, as states have sought to prevent voter intimidation or even violence at the polls driven by Trump’s false claims of election rigging. At least six states are debating bills that would ban firearms at polling places or expand existing bans to include more locations. Read Article

National Guard ready to assist states with cyber response, say officials | Skylar Rispens/StateScoop

The National Guard, equipped with over 2,000 cybersecurity-trained guardsmen, stands ready to support states’ cyber requirements, according to Major General Joe Jarrard and Brigadier General Teri D. Williams of the National Guard Bureau. With ample capacity and readiness, the Guard’s cyber team is gearing up to assist states with the upcoming November presidential election. Their success in recruiting and retaining cyber professionals is attributed not to monetary incentives but to the unique opportunities for training and community service. This symbiotic relationship between civilian jobs and National Guard service benefits both parties, with guardsmen bringing back enhanced cyber skills to their civilian roles. Read Article

Wisconsin: Ballot Measure May Scare Away the People Who Help Run Elections | Alex Burness/Bolts

For the past two years, Nick Ramos has volunteered his time to ensure more Wisconsinites can participate in elections: with a mobile printer in hand, he visits polling places in the Milwaukee area to help people who lack proper identification obtain it on the spot, so that they are eligible to vote. But Ramos, who directs the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign, an organization that promotes good government, says he may not volunteer in the future if voters approve Question 2, a constitutional amendment on the state’s April 2 ballot. “This thing gets passed, and I’d be very afraid to do that again,” he told Bolts. The measure would require that only “an election official designated by law may perform tasks in the conduct of primaries, elections or referendums.” It can easily read as an innocuous codification of existing statute, and it has generated no campaign spending on either side of the issue since Republican lawmakers chose to place it on the ballot late last year. Read Article

National: America’s election chiefs are worried AI is coming for them | Zach Montellaro/Politico

Election officials are increasingly concerned about the potential for AI-generated misinformation to disrupt the democratic process, with scenarios including false communications from state officials, manipulated videos, and phishing attempts targeting election workers. These attacks exploit the obscurity yet importance of election officials, making them vulnerable targets. To combat this threat, election officials are incorporating AI scenarios into their training programs and planning public education campaigns to counter misinformation. Read Article

National: China, Russia and Iran capable of disrupting 2024 elections, intel assessment warns | David DiMolfetta/Nextgov/FCW

The Office of the Director of National Intelligence released an assessment stating that China, Russia, and Iran are capable of and likely to launch cyberattacks aimed at disrupting the U.S. presidential election in November. The report highlights concerns about misinformation and disinformation campaigns, with China potentially using state-run TikTok accounts to influence election outcomes. Moscow sees the elections as an opportunity for influence operations, while Iran may attempt to conduct influence operations targeting U.S. elections, as it has done in the past. There are fears that a loss of faith in electoral systems could lead to widespread voter fraud claims, similar to those seen in the 2020 election, and potentially result in violence. Additionally, reductions in content moderator staff at social media companies are seen as a major risk to election integrity, while the lack of communication between these companies and government agencies like the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency further complicates efforts to combat election interference. Read Article

National: With AI afoot, state election officials ask federal lawmakers for more funding | Sophia Fox-Sowell/StateScoop

State and local election officials testified before the Senate Rules Committee about the increasing threat of AI-generated deepfakes to election security, urging lawmakers to pass legislation addressing challenges posed by artificial intelligence. With all 50 states introducing legislation to regulate deepfakes since 2019, and 15 states passing such legislation, concerns were raised about misinformation, disinformation, and foreign interference in elections. Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson advocated for the Preparing Election Administrators for AI Act, emphasizing the need for federal investment in U.S. elections to combat AI-generated threats. Read Article

National: Top US cybersecurity agency hacked and forced to take some systems offline | Sean Lyngaas/CNN

The US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) recently discovered it was hacked, prompting the shutdown of two key computer systems—one facilitating the sharing of security tools among federal, state, and local officials, and the other containing information on security assessments of chemical facilities. Although there is currently no operational impact, the incident underscores the vulnerability of organizations to cyber threats and highlights the importance of having robust incident response plans in place. The hack exploited vulnerabilities in virtual private networking software made by Ivanti, with CISA urging agencies and firms to update their software. Read Article

National: There are 100,000 fewer Election Day polling places in 2024 | Chris Teale/Route Fifty

The decline in physical polling places during the 2022 midterms, almost halving from the previous cycle, has raised concerns among voting rights groups, particularly in light of the Supreme Court’s 2013 Shelby County v. Holder decision, which struck down key parts of the Voting Rights Act. This decline, coupled with pandemic-related changes to voting procedures and state-level decisions, has led to accessibility challenges, especially for low-income individuals. Efforts to reinstate parts of the Voting Rights Act have faced opposition, further complicating the situation. Some of the decrease is the result of many counties adopting countywide vote centers and the nationwide increase in mail balloting but concerns persist over uneven polling place availability and the reluctance of venues like schools and churches to serve as polling locations due to security, safety, and legal compliance issues. Read Article

National: The Chinese government is using TikTok to meddle in elections, ODNI says | Mallory Culhane/Politico