National

When officials in Durham, North Carolina, open their new $24 million elections operations center later this year, it will include a feature not in the original plan: a separate mail-room exhaust system to guard against dangerous particles spreading through the building. The design change came after a spate of suspicious letters – some laced with fentanyl – landed at election offices around the country last year, said Derek Bowens, who has served as Durham County’s elections director since 2017. The letters, which were sent to election offices from Georgia to Washington state, set off fresh security concerns for a workforce battered by unprecedented threats and harassment. Durham didn’t receive any of those letters, but “we were terrified” that the county – a Democratic bastion in a swing state – would be targeted, Bowens said. “There was mass concern.” Read Article

National: As Trump airs his election doubts, many supporters say they won’t accept a Biden win in 2024 | Alex Tabet, Jillian Frankel, Emma Barnett, Nnamdi Egwuonwu and Jake Traylor/NBC

More than six months out from the presidential election, many Republican voters harbor deep doubts not only about whether President Joe Biden is fit for a second term — but also about whether he can even win re-election fair and square. “I think that the powers that be on the Democratic side have figured out a way to circumvent democracy,” said Darlene Anastas, 69, of Middleborough, Massachusetts. Poll after poll has found that a large proportion of the Republican electorate believes the only reasons Joe Biden is president are voter fraud and Democratic dirty tricks, buying into former President Donald Trump’s baseless claims about the 2020 election. Trump continues to stoke those fires on the campaign trail. Read Article

National: RNC targets absentee ballots, voter rolls in 2024 to ‘protect’ vote | Erin Mansfield/USA Today

The Republican National Committee and its lawyers are going state to state seeking to influence what laws and procedures will govern the November election. The RNC, which has been overhauled with loyalists to former President Donald Trump, is reviving failed legal arguments from 2020 as it seeks to get involved in dozens of state and federal lawsuits. The cases are in all the major battleground states for 2024, but also in deep-red and deep-blue states. Some of the biggest ongoing cases target how absentee ballots are processed and who should be removed from voter rolls. If the cases are successful, fewer people will be allowed to vote in November, and fewer absentee ballots will be counted. Read Article

National: Inside the far-right plan to use civil rights law to disrupt the 2024 election | Sarah D. Wire and Mackenzie Mays/Los Angeles Times

A group called United Sovereign Americans is touring the U.S., spreading misinformation about election procedures and recruiting activists to challenge election results through lawsuits alleging civil rights violations. Led by Marly Hornik, the group aims to scrutinize voter rolls for errors and file lawsuits in multiple states, with the goal of preventing certification of election results unless substantial changes are made to election processes. Despite legal experts dismissing their arguments and concerns about the integrity of the electoral process, the group’s strategy could potentially sow doubts about the 2024 presidential election’s integrity if even one sympathetic judge rules in their favor. Read Article

National: A post falsely suggesting migrants illegally registered to vote spread to millions in four weeks | Nicole Acevedo/NBC

The rumor started as a post on X. The post published in early April misrepresented federal data from the Social Security Administration to falsely suggest that hundreds of thousands of migrants may have registered to vote in Pennsylvania, Arizona and Texas. One hour later, the tweet got the rocket fuel it needed to take off: X owner Elon Musk reposted it with the comment, “extremely concerning.” In less than four days, the false narrative was widely shared on X, Facebook and Instagram. Donald Trump and Georgia Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor-Greene soon joined in, respectively proclaiming, “What is going on???” and “Are migrants registering to vote using SSN?” By the end of the month, the original tweet and Musk’s had generated more than 125 million views. Read Article

National: Will hackers, trolls and AI deepfakes upset the 2024 election? | Jeffrey Fleishman/Los Angeles Times

In the analog days of the 1970s, long before hackers, trolls and edgelords, an audiocassette company came up with an advertising slogan that posed a trick question: “Is it live or is it Memorex?” The message toyed with reality, suggesting there was no difference in sound quality between a live performance and music recorded on tape. Fast forward to our age of metaverse lies and deceptions, and one might ask similar questions about what’s real and what’s not: Is President Biden on a robocall telling Democrats to not vote? Is Donald Trump chumming it up with Black men on a porch? Is the U.S. going to war with Russia? Fact and fiction appear interchangeable in an election year when AI-generated content is targeting voters in ways that were once unimaginable. Read Article

Pennsylvania: Election officials in the US are under threat. A key county just faced a major test ahead of November | Sam Levine/The Guardian

Jim Rose, the director of administrative services in Luzerne county in north-eastern Pennsylvania, had been listening to the radio all morning and had not heard “a single peep” about problems at the polls during Pennsylvania’s primary on Tuesday. When he ran into Emily Cook, the county’s acting director of elections, she wasn’t ready to celebrate. It was, after all, only mid-afternoon, and the polls would be open until 8pm. “If you say that, you have to go outside, spin around on your left foot – it has to be your left foot – and throw some salt,” she said. … “I am very conscious of how important it is that I get this right, not just for the department or the county on the whole, but for my own job,” she said in her office. “It feels like a test and preparation for what comes in November.” Read Article

National: Local election workers fear threats to their safety as November nears. One group is trying to help | Christina A. Cassidy/Associated Press

The Committee for Safe and Secure Elections is spearheading efforts to train local election workers across the nation to respond effectively to threats and coordinate with law enforcement, particularly in the lead-up to another highly charged presidential election. Led by former clerk Tina Barton, who experienced threats firsthand after the 2020 election, the committee aims to address the alarming rise in harassment and security concerns among election officials since then. These training sessions, held recently in Traverse City and attended by law enforcement and election workers alike, focus on preparing officials for various scenarios, from physical security risks to harassment and intimidation tactics. Read Articles

National: Cash-strapped election offices have fewer resources after bans on private grants | Matt Vasilogambros/Stateline

In the past four years, 28 states, including Wisconsin, have banned or restricted local governments from using private donations for election offices, equipment, or hiring poll workers, with conservative lawmakers citing concerns about partisan influence from donors like Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan. Despite court rejections of these claims, the debate highlights broader concerns about insufficient local government funding for election offices, affecting tasks from Election Day operations to maintaining voter rolls and equipment. While some states allocate federal grants for election security, inconsistency in funding and reliance on volunteers or donations pose significant challenges. Efforts to improve funding, including a recent $55 million congressional allocation for elections, face obstacles in securing sustained federal support. Read Article

National: New federal grants aimed to support elections. Many voting officials didn’t see a dime | Miles Parks/NPR

Election officials across the U.S. agree that elections are severely underfunded, with outdated equipment and insufficient resources for basic functions like recounts in Kentucky. While the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) allocated a portion of a multibillion-dollar grant program to election security, issues arose in how the money was used. Some election officials reported that funds were either not spent on reinforcing voting infrastructure or were allocated hastily without proper consultation, leading to ineffective use. Challenges included a rushed timeline for grant applications and a lack of expertise in determining election security needs. Read Article

National: The fear of noncitizen voting is as baseless as it has been for 200 years | essica Huseman/Votebeat

President Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson recently advocated for a bill banning noncitizen voting, despite it being illegal and not a significant problem. The move, widely seen as an attempt to garner political support, echoes historical tactics of fear-mongering over noncitizen voting, dating back to the 1800s. Various instances throughout history illustrate how such rhetoric has been used to influence public policy and disenfranchise certain groups. Trump’s persistent focus on this issue, despite lack of evidence, reflects a longstanding pattern of baseless claims. Read Article

National: A crush of lawsuits over voting in multiple states is creating a shadow war for the 2024 election | Christine Fernando/Associated Press

As Biden and Trump gear up for the upcoming election, the Republican National Committee (RNC), now reshaped under Trump’s influence, is actively filing election-related lawsuits in nearly half of the states, targeting various aspects of voting and election administration. With internal changes and pressure from Trump, the RNC’s legal maneuvers are expected to play a significant role in the lead-up to the November elections, aiding in campaign messaging, fundraising, and casting doubts on the validity of the election. Democrats and legal experts warn that these lawsuits could overwhelm election officials, undermine voter confidence, and pave the way for false narratives challenging the legitimacy of the 2024 election, potentially obstructing certification of results. Read Article

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

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

National: China’s Advancing Efforts to Influence the U.S. Election Raise Alarms | Tiffany Hsu and Steven Lee Myers/The New York Times

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