The American Democracy Minute Radio Report & Podcast for Feb. 16, 2024

Today’s Script

(Variations occur with audio due to editing for time. Today’s Links below the script)

You’re listening to the American Democracy Minute, keeping YOUR government by and for the people.

Election security experts warned the country’s secretaries of state to take immediate steps to harden their election systems in both cities and rural precincts,  and prepare for cyber and AI election interference from both foreign and domestic bad actors.

Stateline News reports that representatives from the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, or CISA,  and the Criminal, Cyber, Response, and Services Branch of the FBI, spoke at the winter meetings of the national associations of Secretaries of State and State Election Directors.  

Attendees were warned of a heightened risk of election interference using cyber attacks from U.S. adversaries, including Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea.   This includes the possibility of attacks on election and other infrastructure, including ransomware attacks.  Fulton County, Georgia experienced such an attack in early January.    

CISA announced new webpage last week called Protect2024, making recommendations to states and municipalities on hardening infrastructure. 

Concerns were also raised about AI, which could make it easier to trick voters with misinformation, such as the fake Biden robocall in New Hampshire, or targeting legal immigrant citizens in their languages.

All this, in addition to continued threats of violence to election officials from homegrown domestic extremists.  After fentanyl-laced letters were sent to election offices, officials were advised to have the overdose reversal drug Narcan available.

We have links to the Stateline News article at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org.  I’m Brian Beihl.  

Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:
Stateline News –  Feds deliver stark warnings to state election officials ahead of November
Associated Press – (2023) Election offices are sent envelopes with fentanyl or other substances. Authorities are investigating
Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) – New webpage: #Protect2024
National Association of Secretaries of State – NASS 2024 Winter Conference Highlights
National Association of State Election Directors – NASED Highlights Reminders for the 2024 Elections

Groups Taking Action:
Committee for Safe & Secure Elections, Brennan Center for Justice, Elections Infrastructure Information Sharing & Analysis Center, Issue One/National Council on Election Integrity

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#Democracy  #DemocracyNews #ProtectElections #ProtectPollWorkers #CyberSecurity 

The post CISA & FBI Warn Secretaries of State to Prepare for Potential Cyberattacks and AI Voter Suppression Before the 2024 Election appeared first on American Democracy Minute.

The American Democracy Minute Radio Report & Podcast for Dec. 1, 2023

Today’s Script

(Variations occur with audio due to editing for time. Today’s Links below the script)

You’re listening to the American Democracy Minute, keeping YOUR government by and for the people.

In November 2022, Michigan voters passed a constitutional amendment enshrining voting protections and expanding ballot access. Throughout 2023, the legislature codified those mandates, and passed additional reforms, making Michigan one of the year’s democracy bright spots.

Proposition 2 mandates nine days of early voting, postage for mail-in ballots, a permanent absentee voter list, protections for both voters and election workers from harassment, and a tracking system for absentee ballots.   It allows for the funding of secure drop boxes, and the counting of military and overseas ballots if postmarked by election day.  It clarifies that only the ballots cast determines election outcomes, only the election board certifies that outcome, and that audits are supervised by the Secretary of State, not third parties.

The pro-voter legislature, backed by a democracy-friendly governor, implemented most of those mandates this year. But Bolts Magazine reports that legislators went even further.   Automatic voter registration was extended to additional state agencies and tribal nation offices, including the first U.S law to automatically register formerly incarcerated citizens.  Another bill repealed a law  banning groups from paying for providing rides to the polls.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has yet to sign two bills allowing same-day registrants to vote without provisional ballot status, and to allow 16 and 17-year-olds to register early. 

We have a link to the Bolts Magazine article and Michigan’s model legislation at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org.  I’m Brian Beihl.

Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:
BallotPedia – Michigan Proposal 2, Voting Policies in Constitution Amendment (2022)
Michigan Live – Michiganders pass Proposal 2, amending the state constitution to expand voting rights
Office of the Governor of Michigan – Gov. Whitmer Signs Bipartisan Legislation Expanding Voting Rights
League of Women Voters MI – List of Bills Implementing Proposition 2 – Update July 17, 2023

Michigan Advance – Lawmakers close out year with election reforms like 16 and 17 year old voting pre-registration
Bolts Magazine – Michigan Democrats Sprint Through ‘Pro-Voter’ Agenda to Close Out 2023

Groups Taking Action:
Voters Not Politicians, Secure Democracy USA, Michigan State Conference of the NAACP, League of Women Voters MI

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Find all of our reports at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org

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#Democracy  #DemocracyNews #FreedomtoVote #ProtectPollWorkers #LetUsVote

The post Michigan a Democracy Bright Spot as it Implements Proposition 2 Constitutional Amendment Protecting and Expanding Voting Rights appeared first on American Democracy Minute.

The American Democracy Minute Radio Report & Podcast for Oct. 20, 2023

Today’s Script

(Variations occur with audio due to editing for time. Today’s Links below the script)

You’re listening to the American Democracy Minute, keeping YOUR government by and for the people.

As states, counties and municipalities prepare for elections in November and next year’s Presidential race, reports have surfaced of short-term poll workers shortages in Iowa, Indiana, Kentucky, Texas and several other states. 

The election system in most precincts around the U.S. relies on older volunteers and stipend workers who have flexibility of time to help out.  Many experienced poll workers stepped back during the pandemic, citing health concerns, and extraordinarily low unemployment rates make it harder to recruit short term workers.  

Fear is also a factor. In an April 2023 survey by the Brennan Center for Justice, 51% of local election officials also said they were somewhat concerned or very concerned about threats, harassment, and intimidation.  Twenty-one percent of local election officials who started after 2020, say they are very or somewhat unlikely to serve in the 2024 cycle.   

To counteract this loss, a coalition of veteran’s organizations created Vet the Vote to mobilize retired veterans to assist as poll workers.   Another group of media companies, businesses, democracy groups, and advocacy organizations launched Power the Polls in 2020, recruiting 275,000 poll workers for the 2022 midterms.  In August, Pennsylvania Secretary of the Commonwealth Al Schmidt urged 17-year-olds to serve as poll workers this fall. 

If you can serve your community as a poll worker, contact your local election office, or visit AmericanDemocracyMinute.org to find out more.  I’m Brian Beihl.

Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:
Kentucky Lantern – Across Kentucky, election workers needed ahead of general election
WISH-TV – Some counties short hundreds of poll workers before Election Day
Texas Tribune/Votebeat – Smaller Texas counties could face a poll worker shortage due to new state requirements
USA Today – Need extra money? Poll workers are in demand and getting a pay raise before the 2024 election.
CBS2 Iowa – Iowa still needs 10,000+ poll workers for upcoming election
Brennan Center for Justice – Local Election Officials Survey — April 2023
Pennsylvania Dept. of State – Shapiro Administration Encourages Voters, 17-Year-Old High School Students To Sign Up Today To Be Poll Workers In November Election
Vet the Vote – A national campaign to recruit veterans and military family members to become the next generation of poll workers
Power the Polls – HELP STAFF YOUR LOCAL POLLING PLACE
U.S. Election Assistance Commission – Become a Poll Worker

Groups Taking Action:
Power the Polls, Vet the Vote, Vote411, League of Women Voters US

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Find all of our reports at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org

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#Democracy  #DemocracyNews #ProtectElections #ProtectPollWorkers #BeaPollWorker

The post Tight Labor Market, Demographics, Health Concerns and Poll Worker Harassment Contribute to Shortages of Poll Workers Around the U.S. appeared first on American Democracy Minute.

The American Democracy Minute Radio Report & Podcast for August 1, 2023

Today’s Script

(Variations occur with audio due to editing for time. Today’s Links below the script)

You’re listening to the American Democracy Minute, keeping YOUR government by and for the people.

The head of the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, known as CISA, spoke July 25th to state election directors, announcing an investment in new regional staff helping states protect their elections.  She also cited artificial intelligence as an emerging threat.

CISA Director Jen Easterly is a West Point graduate and Oxford Rhodes Scholar who retired as a Lt. Colonel from the US Cyber Command after 20 years of service.  She received two Bronze Stars, and was later nominated by President Biden for the CISA post in 2021.

Easterly told election directors that the difference in cyber security for elections was QUOTE “Night & Day,” compared with 2016, and that information sharing of intelligence on emerging threats to elections would continue to be core to CISA’s mission.   Easterly told the Associated Press that she sees artificial intelligence in the hands of bad actors as a concern, but that she had confidence in the security of the 2024 election itself.

Easterly noted that CISA is adding additional regional election security advisors to consult on with states and municipalities, and said at the end of her speech:  

“As we know, elections are the golden thread that run through our democracy. Election security is not a partisan issue; rather it is an issue of preserving that foundational fabric of our democracy.”

We have a link to her speech and to the CISA website at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org.   I’m Brian Beihl.

Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:
Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) – Director Easterly’s Remarks to the National Association of State Election Directors’ Summer Conference

Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) – Bio of Director Jen Easterly
Associated Press – Head of US cybersecurity agency sees progress on election security, with more work needed for 2024
Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) – Election Security Rumor vs. Reality
U.S. Congress – Election Worker Protection Act

Groups Taking Action:
Common Cause Election Disinformation, Protect Democracy, Election Worker Legal Defense Network

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Find all of our reports at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org

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#Democracy  #DemocracyNews #ProtectElections #ProtectPollWorkers

The post U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Head Announces Additional Election Security Advisors to Assist States in Securing Elections appeared first on American Democracy Minute.

The American Democracy Minute Radio Report & Podcast for May 9, 2023

Voting Options & Poll Worker Protection Laws Move Forward in Delaware, Connecticut & Oklahoma
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Today’s Script:  (Variations occur with audio due to editing for time) 

Today’s Links now below the script

You’re listening to the American Democracy Minute, keeping YOUR government by and for the people.

We have three pro-Democracy stories out of Delaware, Connecticut and Oklahoma today, two proposing to expand voting options, and one just signed to protect poll workers from intimidation.

First to Delaware, which last year passed a law to implement no-excuse absentee mail-in voting, only to have its state supreme court strike it down as unconstitutional.  Delaware Public Media reports that Senate Bill 3 proposes to change the state constitution to remove currently required excuses for use of absentee voting.  S3 passed the state senate and now moves to a house committee. 

Connecticut is well on its way to expanding in-person early voting.  One of only four states not offering some form of early voting, the Connecticut Mirror reports bipartisan bill HB-5004 would add 14 days of early in-person voting for general elections, seven days for state and local primaries, and four days for special elections and Presidential primaries.  It’s expected to pass the Senate and be signed by Gov. Ned Lamont.

Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt signed SB 481 May 1st, making it a misdemeanor to threaten, intimidate or harass election workers, or to release their personal information.  Doing so is punishable by up to six months in jail and up to a $1,000 fine.  The bill also makes impersonating an election official subject to the same penalties.

We have links to the bills, articles, and groups taking action at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org.  I’m Brian Beihl.

Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:
Delaware Legislature –  Bill Information for S 3
Delaware Public Media – Delaware Senate passes first leg of constitutional amendment to allow no-excuse absentee voting
Connecticut Legislature – Bill Information for HB 5004
Connecticut Mirror – House passes bill to bring early voting to Connecticut
Oklahoma Legislature –  Bill Information for SB 481
The Oklahoman – Election Board head praises Senate Bill 481 to protect Oklahoma election officials

Groups Taking Action:
Delaware Voting Rights Coalition,  League of Women Voters DE, Common Cause CT, Connecticut Citizen Action Group, Common Cause OK, League of Women Voters OK

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Find all of our reports at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org

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#Democracy  #DemocracyNews #ProtectPollWorkers #VotingRights

The post Voting Options & Poll Worker Protection Laws Move Forward in Delaware, Connecticut & Oklahoma appeared first on American Democracy Minute.