Page 26 - bon-dia-aruba-20200506

A26 U.S. NEWS
Wednesday 6 May 2020
Vote-by-mail debate raises fears of election disinformation

By ERIC TUCKER and "Coronavirus is coming,
AMANDA SEITZ hide the ballots! Calls to
Associated Press cancel campaigns & vot-
WASHINGTON (AP) — A bit- ing erode already-thin trust
terly partisan debate un- in US primaries," read a
folding on whether more headline on the website of
Americans should cast their the Russian television chan-
votes through the mail dur- nel RT, which broadcasts in
ing a pandemic is provok- English and is aimed at au-
ing online disinformation diences outside Russia.
and conspiracy theories Meanwhile, conspiracy
that could undermine trust theories that Democrats
in the results, even if there are hyping the pandemic
are no major problems. to push for mail-in voting
With social distancing or that forecasts of a sec-
guidelines possibly curtail- ond wave this fall are part
ing in-person voting at the of a ploy to cancel an in-
polls in November, states person vote have received
are drawing up plans to thousands of likes, retweets
rely more heavily on a mail- and shares on Facebook,
in system that has until now Twitter and Reddit. The
seen only limited use. theories are popular in doz-
Historically, there is no evi- ens of Facebook groups
dence of widespread voter that have been created
fraud through mail-in vot- in recent weeks to protest
ing. But social media users In this March 10, 2020, file photo wearing gloves, a King County Election worker collect ballots governors' stay-at-home
from a drop box in the Washington State primary in Seattle.
are already pushing grandi- Associated Press orders.
ose theories casting doubt "When you have this am-
on the method. President align with the Kremlin's where a ballot is automati- already questioned states' biguity and uncertainty,
Donald Trump has encour- playbook, said Bret Scha- cally mailed to every eligi- attempts to postpone pri- that's fertile ground for
aged the skepticism, say- fer, a media and digital ble voter. maries or transition them to pushing out false informa-
ing during a televised brief- disinformation fellow at The remaining states a mail-in process as gover- tion," said Schafer, the think
ing that "a lot of people the Alliance for Securing have substantial work in nors grapple with how to tank fellow. "This is creating
cheat with mail-in voting." Democracy, a Washing- the months ahead. They hold an election against a perfect environment for
On Saturday, he tweeted: ton think tank. During the will have to make major the backdrop of the virus. these narratives to thrive."q
"Don't allow RIGGED ELEC- 2016 election, Russia-linked changes to their voting
TIONS!" groups polluted American and tabulating systems,
Justice Department of- voters' social media feeds buy equipment or software
ficials are concerned for- with messages about hot- to track the ballots and sort
eign adversaries could ex- button topics like race re- out who — individual voters
ploit any vulnerabilities in lations, gun laws and im- or taxpayers — will pay for
the vote-by-mail process, migration. "You don't have return postage in less than
especially since even minor to hack the vote to hack six months' time to accom-
tampering could trigger people's perception of the modate more voting by
widespread doubts about vulnerability of the vote," mail.
the integrity of the vote. he said. Some states are exploring
"Is it possible, in particu- "All you need to do is to how to simply expand ex-
lar for a foreign actor, to seed enough doubt about isting absentee voting sys-
cause enough mischief in the legitimacy of a vote." tems, in which voters can
the vote-by-mail process Well before the coronavirus request a ballot. In this March 23, 2020 file photo, light traffic and a mostly
to raise a question in the upended America's elec- "Just like you wouldn't empty parking lot is seen along Pacific Coast Highway, in
minds of Americans, partic- toral process, federal of- want to premiere your play Santa Monica, Calif. 2020.
ularly Americans perhaps ficials were girding for the straight to Broadway, it's Associated Press
whose candidate has lost, prospect of foreign interfer- hard to have a very new
that somehow the result of ence in the U.S. election. or very changed system in Estimate shows U.S. traffic deaths
this election is unfair?" As- The FBI and the Depart- a high-stakes presidential fell 1.2% in 2019 to 36,120
sistant Attorney General ment of Homeland Secu- election, especially un-
John Demers, the depart- rity warned in February that der conditions where nor- The U.S. government is estimating that traffic deaths
ment's top national security Russia could seek to misuse mal meetings, trainings, fell 1.2% last year to 36,120.
official, said in describing voter registration data and might be impacted by the The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
a key question confronting even secretly advise cam- pandemic," said Richard says it's the third year in a row that fatalities dropped.
law enforcement. paigns or candidates, ac- Hasen, an election law ex- Pedestrian deaths fell 2% compared with 2018 figures,
Several disinformation ex- cording to documents The pert at the University of Cal- while motorcyclist deaths dropped 1%. The number
perts said they have not Associated Press obtained. ifornia, Irvine. of bicyclists killed fell 3%, but fatal crashes involving
found evidence yet that Now, a potential overhaul Those last-minute changes heavy trucks rose 1%.
foreign actors are covertly of how millions of Ameri- could spur unsubstantiat- The agency says the decline came even though the
pushing a false narrative cans vote could present ed claims about rampant number of vehicle miles traveled increased by just
about mail-in voting. new vulnerabilities for for- voter fraud, an unsupport- under 1%.
But a sham social media eign adversaries to weap- ed theory that Trump and The figures are estimates based on fatal crashes
campaign that feeds exist- onize. some of his supporters have reported to the agency. Final figures for 2019 won't
ing doubts about the U.S. Only five states currently already pushed for years.
election process would conduct mail-in voting, Russian state media have be available until later this year.q