National

National: How DEF CON’s election hackers are trying to protect themselves | John Sakellariadis/Politico

At the DEF CON hacker convention in Las Vegas, organizers of the event’s “Voting Village” hacking event took extensive security measures to protect the physical safety of security researchers who were attempting to hack into election equipment. Threats and harassment against researchers have increased due to disinformation and conspiracy theories surrounding election security, particularly after former President Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election. This rise in disinformation-fueled threats is prompting election administrators, poll workers, and security researchers to take new precautions to ensure their physical safety while conducting their work. The measures included undercover security consultants, tighter monitoring of attendees, and briefings for volunteers on dealing with potential agitators. This reflects the growing need to address not only cybersecurity but also physical security in the realm of election protection. Read Article

National: Trump indictment underscores election security risk for 2024  | John Sakellariadis/Politico

The alleged theft of voting system software from an elections office in Coffee County, Georgia, which is central to the latest indictment of former President Donald Trump and his allies, underscores a growing security risk to future elections. Election security experts have cautioned that such software theft could provide a blueprint for malicious actors to identify vulnerabilities and develop malware to exploit them. The indictment officially links Trump allies to the theft of voting system software in Georgia and other states following the 2020 election, with the indictment alleging coordination between Trump’s lawyer, Sidney Powell, and local GOP officials. Dominion Voting Systems, whose software was stolen, has introduced a software upgrade to address identified bugs, but implementing these upgrades before the 2024 election is a challenge. Read Article

National: Rising political threats take US into uncharted territory as 2024 election looms | Nicholas Riccardi/Associated Press

The recent fatal shooting of a 74-year-old Utah man by FBI agents after he threatened to assassinate President Joe Biden is the latest instance highlighting the dangerous impact of violent rhetoric in the U.S. Just days before this incident, a Texas man was sentenced to prison for threatening to kill Arizona election workers, and a Michigan woman was charged for lying to buy guns for her son who threatened violence against Biden and the state’s governor. Threats against public officials have surged, with a doubling of threats against members of Congress and an explosion of threats against election workers, leading to concerns about the health of American democracy and the potential for political violence. Experts warn that such violent rhetoric can be a precursor to actual violence, with lone attackers being a significant concern. Read Article

National: How alleged computer crimes figure into latest indictment of Trump, allies | Tim Starks/The Washington Post

An indictment in Georgia has charged four individuals, including attorney Sidney Powell, with conspiracy to commit computer theft, computer trespass, and computer invasion of privacy, among other charges, related to their promotion of the disproven narrative that Donald Trump won the 2020 election. The indictment alleges that Powell hired a firm to perform computer forensic collections and analytics on Dominion Voting Systems equipment in Michigan and elsewhere, and a breach of election equipment in Coffee County occurred under this agreement. The indictment also mentions unindicted co-conspirators and includes charges against Rudy Giuliani for allegedly making false statements about election workers and USB ports. The indictment is part of a broader legal effort to hold individuals accountable for spreading false election claims and attempting to undermine the legitimacy of the election. Read Article

National: After Years of Spreading Lies, Election Deniers Face Consequences | Nick Corasaniti/The New York Times

The legal consequences are beginning to catch up with many of former President Donald Trump’s allies who were involved in efforts to overturn the 2020 election results. In Michigan, three leading election deniers were charged with felonies for attempting to obtain and inspect election machines. Trump himself was indicted in a federal investigation related to his actions surrounding the 2020 election. Additionally, Trump and 18 others, including figures like Rudy Giuliani, Sidney Powell, and John Eastman, were charged with attempts to interfere with the outcome of the election in Georgia. These charges represent a growing legal effort to hold individuals accountable for spreading false claims and attempting to undermine the legitimacy of the election. Read Article

Abused and stalked, US election workers are bracing for 2024 | Madeline Halpert/BBC

As legal action ensues against former President Donald Trump and his allies over alleged plots to overturn election results in Georgia, poll workers are expressing enduring impacts from false claims of ballot fraud. Unsubstantiated claims of election fraud in 2020 led to stalking, intimidation, and death threats for hundreds of election workers across the United States. The allegations have ushered in an era of harassment for election workers, impacting both their lives and the broader electoral process. Despite legal actions, the divisive consequences of these claims are likely to persist during the 2024 general election and continue to affect political legitimacy. Read Article

National: Congress Has Little Time to Help Election Workers Before 2024 | Eric Cortellessa/Time

As Congress returns from its August recess, the upcoming budget negotiations have taken on heightened importance, with Democrats pushing to include funding for state and local election workers’ protection. This push comes as former President Donald Trump faces multiple criminal indictments and runs to reclaim the White House, raising concerns about election integrity. The two main objectives are to increase funding for election offices and pass an election security bill that strengthens penalties for harassing or intimidating election administrators. These efforts are driven by the surge in death threats, online intimidation, and abuse faced by election officials. While surveys show bipartisan public support for funding state and local elections, navigating the deeply divided Congress poses a challenge for passing such legislation. Read Article

National: ‘Fake’ elector plot raised concerns over legal peril, indictment shows | Amy Gardner, Patrick Marley, Yvonne Wingett Sanchez and Josh Dawsey/The Washington Post

A federal indictment filed against Donald Trump accuses him of trying to overturn the 2020 election by involving a group of loyal Pennsylvania Republicans to cast state electoral votes for him even after Joe Biden had been declared the certified winner in Pennsylvania. The indictment alleges that the campaign officials, led by Rudy Giuliani, told the electors they were meeting on a contingency basis only, but campaign officials circulated language to add to the Pennsylvania elector certificates to be submitted to Washington asserting that the votes were intended to count only if Trump prevailed in litigation in the state. The indictment also reveals the extent of discomfort and doubt among some of the Pennsylvania electors about the scheme’s legitimacy. Read Article

National: Previously Secret Memo Laid Out Strategy for Trump to Overturn Biden’s Win | Maggie Haberman, Charlie Savage and Luke Broadwater/The New York Times

A newly revealed internal campaign memo has shed light on a plot by a lawyer allied with former President Donald Trump to use false electors to subvert the 2020 election. The memo, authored by Kenneth Chesebro, outlines a strategy involving fraudulent electors that aimed to draw attention to voter fraud claims and buy the Trump campaign more time through legal battles. While the plan was not ultimately executed, the memo provided details about how the strategy originated and was discussed behind the scenes. The document reveals a calculated effort to create confusion and derail the proper certification of Joe Biden’s victory. Read Article

National: Giuliani claims ‘dog ate my homework’ in Smartmatic case, lawyers say | Martin Pengelly/The Guardian

The voting machine company Smartmatic, which is involved in a $2.7 billion defamation lawsuit, has accused Rudy Giuliani, the former personal attorney to Donald Trump, of using excuses to avoid the discovery process in the case. Giuliani, along with Fox News, is named in the lawsuit. Smartmatic’s lawyers likened Giuliani’s excuses to those of “the dog ate my homework” and claimed that he has not produced any non-public documents responsive to their discovery requests made 14 months ago. Giuliani is facing legal jeopardy due to his involvement in efforts to overturn the 2020 election results, and he is also being sued for defamation by other parties. Read Article

National: Federal Election Commission moves toward potentially regulating AI deepfakes in campaign ads | Ali Swenson/Associated Press

The Federal Election Commission (FEC) has taken a unanimous procedural vote to consider regulating AI-generated deepfakes in political ads ahead of the 2024 US presidential election, in response to a petition asking the FEC to regulate ads that use artificial intelligence to misrepresent political opponents. Experts believe that AI-powered generative tools are making it easier to create fake images, videos, and audio clips that manipulate public perception, and several 2024 presidential campaigns have already used them. The FEC’s vote advances the consideration of the issue, and a 60-day public comment period is expected to follow before a decision on developing rules is made. Read Article

What 2020 Did — And Didn’t — Change About How Americans Vote | Kaleigh Rogers/FiveThirtyEight

The 2020 election brought about significant changes to the American voting system, driven by the COVID-19 pandemic and former President Donald Trump’s false claims of a stolen election. One of the most notable changes was the surge in mail-in voting, which had been steadily increasing since 1996 but intensified during the 2020 cycle. While the pandemic accelerated some trends, Mark Lindemann of Verified Voting notes that the larger trend was already moving away from paperless systems, with more and more jurisdictions adopting paper ballots marked by voters. However, Lindemann acknowledges that the push for hand-counting ballots, driven by distrust in machines, has emerged, but it remains in the minority. Overall, the 2020 election had a profound impact on voting methods and election infrastructure, setting the stage for a transformed landscape for future elections, with some aspects reflecting natural evolution while others were influenced by extraordinary circumstances. Read Article

National: Trump indicted over efforts to overturn his 2020 presidential election loss | Eric Tucker and Michael Kunzelman/Associated Press

Donald Trump was indicted on felony charges related to his efforts to overturn the 2020 election and the subsequent Capitol riot. The four-count indictment accuses Trump of conspiring to defraud the U.S. government, obstructing an official proceeding, and violating a civil rights statute by attempting to violate the right to vote. The charges provide further insight into his campaign of lies about the election results and how he sought to exploit the Capitol violence to delay the certification of Joe Biden’s victory. This marks the third criminal case against Trump and is the first time a defeated president is facing legal consequences for attempting to cling to power. Read Article

National: New guidelines mean the next voting machines should be more secure. No need to panic about the current ones. | Jessica Huseman/Votebeat

At a recent National Association of State Election Directors conference in South Carolina, the update to the Voluntary Voting Systems Guidelines (VVSG 2.0) was discussed. The guidelines, originally adopted in 2005 and mildly updated in 2015, have undergone a full update in late 2021 to accommodate better technology and set standards for disabled voters’ interactions with voting machines. Despite the importance of these updates, there has been misinformation circulating on social media platforms and far-right blogs, claiming that all current voting machines will be compromised and decertified due to the new standard. This is false. The VVSG is a system of voluntary guidelines, and while new machines will be certified to the higher standard, existing machines will remain functional and reliable. The update is long overdue and welcomed by election administrators, as the current standards are outdated. The comparison to cars with updated safety features showcases that older machines will still be operational, just not certified to the latest standard. Read Article

National: Election disinformation campaigns targeted voters of color in 2020. Experts expect 2024 to be worse | Christine Fernando/Associated Press

Community organizations are bracing for an increase in disinformation campaigns targeting communities of color and immigrant communities as the 2024 election approaches. During the 2020 election, false claims, often tailored to specific communities, spread on social media, impacting the perceptions and trust in the voting process among people of color. Tailored disinformation targeted topics of importance to each community, exploiting their fears and past experiences in their home countries. Language barriers and reliance on translated content for voting information also contributed to the spread of misinformation. Advocates are urging social media companies to invest in content moderation and fact-checking in languages other than English, while government and election officials should make voting information more accessible to non-English speakers and organize media literacy trainings in community spaces to combat disinformation. Read Article

Activists for hand-counting ballots don’t acknowledge drawbacks: More mistakes, time, and money | Jessica Huseman/Votebeat

The effort to expand hand-counting ballots in elections continues despite evidence that it is less accurate, more time-consuming, and costly compared to using tabulators. Advocates claim hand-counting is straightforward, but in reality, it involves complex processes, requiring many people, time, and space, leading to increased opportunities for errors. Hand-counting is less efficient in the United…

National: Head of US cybersecurity agency sees progress on election security, with more work needed for 2024 | Christina A. Cassidy/Associated Press

The head of the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), Jen Easterly, announced plans to strengthen election system protection by hiring 10 additional election security specialists who will interact directly with state and local officials. Despite significant progress in safeguarding election systems since the 2016 presidential election, there are growing concerns about emerging threats,…

National: Meta’s Threads needs a policy for election disinformation, voting groups say | Dara Kerr/NPR

Threads, the new social media platform launched by Facebook’s parent company Meta, has gained tens of millions of users in less than a month. However, voting rights groups are concerned as Threads has not outlined a plan to curb election disinformation on the site. The groups, including Vote.org and End Citizens United, sent a letter to Meta asking for a robust plan to ensure strong election policies are in place, especially with the 2024 election cycle approaching. While Meta claims that Facebook’s rules apply to Threads, the voting rights groups argue that a standalone policy is necessary to clarify implementation and enforcement. Read Article

National: ‘Local elections are at risk’: Senator Warnock reintroduces legislation to stop election interference | Ambria Burton/Georgia Public Broadcasting

Georgia Sen. Raphael Warnock has reintroduced the Preventing Election Subversion Act of 2023 in Congress to protect local state election administrations from partisan interference and address challenges with voter registration. The bill aims to limit the baseless removal of local election officials, allowing removal only for specific reasons, and provides a federal cause of action to enforce this standard. It also addresses voter challenges by requiring personal knowledge to support each individual challenge and aims to prevent the targeting of specific demographics based on their beliefs or background. Warnock’s bill comes after a study showed that at least 20 states have introduced bills focused on election interference, raising concerns about partisan subversion and interference in the democratic process. Read Article

National Association of Counties Adopts Resolution Urging Congress to Protect Election Officials from Threats, Intimidation | Kevin Kinnally/Conduit Street

The National Association of Counties (NACo) has passed a resolution urging Congress to impose appropriate penalties for threats and intimidation against public servants responsible for fair elections. The resolution calls for legislation to penalize offenses such as harassing or intimidating election officials, threatening them or their families, attempting to pressure officials to violate state law or the Constitution, and disseminating personal information about them. Election officials are facing increased attacks, with nearly one in three experiencing harassment, abuse, or threats. Read Article

National: First Findings Shed Light on Role of Social Media Algorithms in 2020 Election | UT News

An academic team from multiple universities collaborated with Meta to study the impact of social media on the 2020 U.S. election. The researchers found that algorithms had a significant effect on what users saw on their feeds, but changing the algorithms for a few months did not impact participants’ political attitudes. The study, co-led by researchers from the University of Texas at Austin and New York University, aimed to understand the influence of social media on American democracy. Despite altering various aspects of Meta’s algorithm for three months during the election period, including removing reshared content and changing to a chronological feed, there were no significant effects on political polarization or ideological extremity. Further research from the project will provide insights into the content and behavior on the platforms. Read Article

National: AI Disinformation Drives Lawmaker Fears About 2024 ‘Wild West’ | Oma Seddiq and Amelia Davidson/Bloomberg

As the 2024 elections approach, lawmakers are facing a short timeframe and lack of consensus to address the threat of deepfakes, which could manipulate and shape the outcome of the elections. The increased use of artificial intelligence by political campaigns has surpassed the efforts of Congress, political parties, and regulators to address the technology’s potential for disinformation. Some Democrats have introduced bills to require labeling on political advertisements that use AI, but Republicans have been slow to support such legislation. Congress is still grappling with understanding the rapidly evolving technology and may be months away from introducing comprehensive legislation to address AI’s threats in elections. In the meantime, political ad spending on deepfakes is expected to increase, raising concerns about the spread of false and misleading content to voters. Read Article

National: Trump condemned Jan. 6 rioters, now he’s become a big supporter | Jill Colvin/Associated Press

Former President Donald Trump, who initially condemned the violence of the January 6, 2021 Capitol rioters, has now evolved to downplaying the violence, praising the rioters as patriots, and spreading false claims about the attack. He is currently the early front-runner in the 2024 Republican presidential primary and has vowed to pardon a “large portion” of Jan. 6 defendants if he wins a second term. He has also fundraised for them, befriended their families, and collaborated on a song featuring Jan. 6 defendants singing “The Star-Spangled Banner” over a prison phone line. Trump’s evolution comes as Republicans, public opinion, and some in Congress have sought to recast the mob as nonviolent and downplay the severity of the attack. Read Article

Georgia: Republican promoters of election fraud approve ballot hand-counts | Justin Glawe/The Guardian

The elections office in Spalding County, Georgia, which is run by Republicans promoting falsehoods about the 2020 election, has approved a motion to implement automatic hand recounts for all future elections. The decision requires elections staff to hand-count each ballot and compare the totals with those reached by voting tabulation machines. Hand counts are slower and less reliable than machine tabulations. The lone Democrat on the board initially supported the idea but objected when the Republicans did not consider the costs to taxpayers. Read Article

Disinformation reimagined: how AI could erode democracy in the 2024 US elections | Nick Robins-Early/The Guardian

Experts are concerned about the potential impact of AI-generated disinformation on elections. The rise of artificial intelligence tools that can create realistic images, mimic human voices, and write human-like text is making it easier to produce and spread deceptive political content on a massive scale. Such content not only threatens to deceive audiences but also erodes trust in the information ecosystem. AI-generated disinformation can be used for voter suppression, spread misinformation to target specific groups, and create false constituencies. Campaigns have already begun dabbling in using AI-generated content for political purposes, and there are concerns that the proliferation of such content will make fact-checking difficult and corrode public trust in information. Read Article

National: Democrats rally around election proposal as counterpoint to GOP plan | Justin Papp/Roll Call

National: Smartmatic subpoenas Flynn, Bannon in defamation lawsuits against Fox News and Newsmax | Marshall Cohen/CNN

Voting technology company Smartmatic has issued subpoenas to Trump allies Michael Flynn and Steve Bannon as part of its defamation lawsuits against Fox News and Newsmax. The lawsuits stem from the promotion of 2020 election lies, with Smartmatic seeking $2.7 billion from Fox and an unspecified amount from Newsmax for disseminating false information that harmed the company’s business. Both Flynn and Bannon played significant roles in Trump’s efforts to overturn the election results, and they have faced their own legal troubles in the past. Fox News and Newsmax deny wrongdoing and are contesting the lawsuits. Read Article

National: Intelligence nominee warns generative AI poses threat to 2024 elections | Maggie Miller/Politico

Lt. Gen. Timothy Haugh, Joe Biden’s nominee to lead the NSA and Cyber Command, expressed concerns about the potential threat of generative artificial intelligence (AI) technologies in the upcoming U.S. presidential election. Haugh testified to the Senate Armed Services Committee that foreign actors might attempt to use generative AI to interfere with the electoral process. The use of AI in disinformation campaigns poses new challenges for organizations like Cyber Command and the NSA, which have previously monitored and disrupted threats to U.S. elections. Senators from both parties are calling for regulations and monitoring of AI technologies to address the risks of disinformation and potential foreign interference. Read Article