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Election workers worry that federal threats task force isn’t enough to keep them safe
Aiming to send a message, the Biden administration recently spotlighted its indictments and convictions in cases involving threats to election officials or workers. But with no letup in reports of attacks, some elections professionals say federal law enforcement still isn’t doing enough to deter bad actors and ensure that those on the front lines of […]
With GOP opposed, U.S. Senate panel advances bills to combat AI in elections
Members of the U.S. Senate are sounding the alarm about the threat that artificial intelligence poses to elections through its ability to deceive voters. But the prospects for legislation that can meaningfully address the problem appear uncertain. In a Wednesday hearing, the Senate Rules Committee advanced three bills designed to counter the AI threat. But […]
Top GOP ‘election integrity’ lawyer charged in Arizona fake elector scheme
Less than a week after the Republican National Committee unveiled a “historic” new program to monitor the polls for fraud, a top lawyer with the committee was among those indicted for an alleged scheme to use false fraud claims to overturn the results of Arizona’s presidential election. Indeed, the lawyer, RNC senior counsel for election […]
Republican National Committee courts election conspiracy theorists to help watch polls
As the Republican National Committee ramps up plans to monitor the polls for illegal voting this fall, the national party is increasingly working with a loose network of anti-fraud extremists who have been found to routinely spread election lies. The extremists also have close ties to the prominent far-right conspiracy theorists who tried to overturn […]
Trump on trial: Former president faces criminal charges of falsifying business records
NEW YORK — The trial of former President Donald Trump kicked off Monday in a lower Manhattan courtroom, marking the first time in U.S. history that an ex-president has been tried on criminal charges. Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee for president, appeared in the state of New York courtroom, where he is charged with falsifying […]
States rush to combat AI threat to elections
This year’s presidential election will be the first since generative AI — a form of artificial intelligence that can create new content, including images, audio, and video — became widely available. That’s raising fears that millions of voters could be deceived by a barrage of political deepfakes. But, while Congress has done little to address […]
GOP backs voting by mail, yet turns to courts to restrict it in battleground states
Fearing that Democrats hold a crucial edge in ballots cast before Election Day, national Republicans are working to convince their voters to take advantage of mail and early voting this year. “We can’t play catch up. We can’t start from behind. We can’t let Dems get a big head start and think we’re going to […]
Trump’s pick for RNC chief worked with top election denier’s group
Former President Donald Trump’s choice to be the next chair of the national Republican Party briefly teamed up last election cycle with a voter fraud watchdog group closely tied to Cleta Mitchell, the conservative lawyer who played a key role in Trump’s bid to subvert the 2020 vote. Trump is backing Michael Whatley, the chair […]
Are Americans really committed to democracy in the 2024 election?
With former President Donald Trump having all but wrapped up the GOP presidential nomination, one issue looks set to be at the center of the general election campaign: the threat to democracy. In a major campaign speech in Pennsylvania in January, President Joe Biden detailed Trump’s lies about the 2020 election, his efforts to use […]
How a new way to vote is gaining traction in states — and could transform US politics
With U.S. democracy plagued by extremism, polarization and a growing disconnect between voters and lawmakers, a set of reforms that could dramatically upend how Americans vote is gaining momentum at surprising speed in Western states. Ranked choice voting, which asks voters to rank multiple candidates in order of preference, has seen its profile steadily expand […]
How U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson helped derail a fight against election lies
Back in July, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas testified before the U.S. House Judiciary Committee. A federal court had recently granted a temporary injunction, in Missouri v. Biden, finding that the Biden administration had violated the First Amendment by coercing social media companies to remove content, related both to elections and the COVID-19 vaccine, that it […]
One year out: how a free and fair 2024 presidential election could be under threat
The last time America elected a president, it led to a deadly assault on the U.S. Capitol and a failed coup that gravely damaged the political system and marred the peaceful transfer of power for the first time in U.S. history. A year from now, the nation’s voters will decide another presidential contest — likely […]