Tag Archives: Voting

Biden 2025 Budget Would Offer ‘Welcome Relief,’ But Not Enough

One expert said that enacting his reforms “will begin to reverse the 40-year one-way ratchet of falling taxes for the wealthy and corporations and instead invest in workers and families.”

By Jessica Corbett. Published 3-11-2024 by Common Dreams

Photto: U.S. Secretary of Defense/flickr/CC

On the heels of delivering the latest State of the Union speech and signing a package of funding bills, U.S. President Joe Biden on Monday unveiled his budget blueprint for fiscal year 2025, a proposal praised by congressional Democrats and progressive advocates who want him to go even further.

The $7.3 trillion budget comes as the divided Congress is still sorting out funding for the current fiscal year. Given those divisions—and that the Republican House majority is already advancing its own budget resolution for the fiscal year that begins in October—the Democratic president’s plan is widely seen as a statement of priorities going into the November election.

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Deepfakes of Black Trump ‘Supporters’ Spark Fresh Calls to Ban AI in Political Ads

“The spread of misinformation and targeted intimidation of Black voters will continue without the proper safeguards,” said Color of Change.

By Brett Wilkins. Published 3-4-2024 by Common Dreams

This deepfake image of former President Donald Trump with Black “supporters” shows misformed and missing fingers, as well as unintelligble lettering on attire. (Photo: Mark Kaye/X)

Racial justice defenders on Monday renewed calls for banning artificial intelligence in political advertisements after backers of former U.S. President Donald Trump published fake AI-generated images of the presumptive Republican nominee with Black “supporters.”

BBC highlighted numerous deepfakes, including one created by right-wing Florida radio host Mark Kaye showing a smiling Trump embracing happy Black women. On closer inspection, missing or misformed fingers and unintelligible lettering on attire expose the images as fake.

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What does a state’s secretary of state do? Most run elections, a once-routine job facing increasing scrutiny

By John J. Martin, University of Virginia. Published 2-29-2024 by The Conversation

Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger with Governor Brian Kemp. Photo: Brad Raffensperger/Facebook

They may be the most important government officials you can’t name. Their decisions have the potential to alter election results. Scholars have referred to them as the “guardians of the democratic process.”

Who are these unknown, but essential, officials?

State secretaries of state.

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At Rallies Nationwide, Low-Wage Workers Tell Political Leaders: ‘Our Votes Are Demands’

“Our government’s refusal to fully address poverty and low wages even after the worst days of Covid is not only killing our brothers and sisters,” said Rev. Dr. William Barber. “It’s killing our public conscience.”

By Jake Johnson. Published 3-2-2024 by Common Dreams

Rev. Dr. William Barber speaks during a demonstration in Raleigh, North Carolina on March 2, 2024. (Photo: NC Poor People’s Campaign/Facebook)

Low-wage workers, faith leaders, and allies rallied in state capitals across the United States on Saturday as part of a mass mobilization of poor voters ahead of the pivotal 2024 election.

The nationwide demonstrations were organized by the Poor People’s Campaign, a multiracial movement calling on state legislators and members of the U.S. Congress to act immediately to end the “crisis of death by poverty” in the richest country in the world. Research published last year found that poverty is the fourth-leading cause of death in the United States.

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Ending Reign of GOP Gerrymandering, Evers Approves Fair Maps in Wisconsin

“Wisconsin, for the first time in over a decade, we will not have some of the most gerrymandered maps in America,” Evers said.

By Olivia Rosane. Published 2-19-2024 by Common Dreams

Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers. Photo: Wisconsin National Guard/flickr/CC

For the first time since 2011, Wisconsin has state Assembly and Senate maps that do not unconstitutionally favor Republican candidates.

Gov. Tony Evers, a Democrat, signed new legislative maps into law on Monday that were crafted by his office and approved by the state Supreme Court.

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FCC Announces New Rule to Confront Deepfake Robocalls

While welcoming the rule, one advocate said it is “not enough to safeguard citizens and our elections.”

By Julia Conley. Published 2-8-2024 by Common Dreams

Photo: Ivan Radic/flickr/CC

Just over two weeks after New Hampshire voters were inundated with artificial intelligence-generation robocalls featuring U.S. President Joe Biden’s fake voice telling them not to vote in their state’s primary, the Federal Communications Commission on Thursday announced what one adocate called a “desperately needed” rule declaring such calls are illegal under federal law.

The FCC unanimously voted to adopt the declaratory ruling, saying calls like those made in New Hampshire are “artificial” under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA).

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Arizona GOP Bill Would Let Legislators Overrule Voters in Presidential Elections

“This is a full sound-the-alarm moment for American democracy,” said one critic.

By Jessica Corbett. Published 1-30-2024 by Common Dreams

Arizona state Sen. Anthony Kern (R-27), an ally of GOP former President Donald Trump, is spearheading a resolution that says “the Legislature, and no other official, shall appoint presidential electors.” (Photo: Anthony Kern)

Just months away from a potential rematch between Democratic U.S. President Joe Biden and Republican former President Donald Trump, democracy defenders are sounding the alarm about an Arizona bill recently introduced by a GOP state legislator.

State Sen. Anthony Kern (R-27) is spearheading Senate Concurrent Resolution 1014, which says that “the Legislature, and no other official, shall appoint presidential electors.” If it passes both chambers, the measure could appear on the November ballot.

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Experts ‘Terrified’ of AI-Driven Misinformation ‘Tsunami’ in 2024 Election

“If people don’t ultimately trust information related to an election, democracy just stops working,” said a senior fellow at the Alliance for Securing Democracy.

By Olivia Rosane. Published 1226-2023 by Common Dreams

An ad for a deepfake video maker. Screenshot: OpenAISee

As 2024 approaches and with it the next U.S. presidential election, experts and advocates are warning about the impact that the spread of artificial intelligence technology will have on the amount and sophistication of misinformation directed at voters.

While falsehoods and conspiracy theories have circulated ahead of previous elections, 2024 marks the first time that it will be easy for anyone to access AI technology that could create a believable deepfake video, photo, or audio clip in seconds, The Associated Press reported Tuesday.

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In ‘Victory for Voting Rights,’ Federal Judges Adopt New Alabama Congressional Map

“Today’s order means for the first time, Black voters in two congressional districts will have an opportunity to elect a candidate of their choice,” said the head of the state’s ACLU branch.

By Brett Wilkins. Published 10-5-2023 by Common Dreams

Photo: Black Voters Matter

Following a U.S. Supreme Court ruling and Alabama Republicans’ open defiance of a federal tribunal’s order to reconfigure the state’s racially gerrymandered congressional districts, a three-judge panel on Thursday adopted a new map that will be used in the 2024 elections.

Proponents hailed the ruling by U.S. Circuit Judge Stanley Marcus, District Judge Anna Manasco, and District Judge Terry Moore as a win for democracy. The move creates a second “opportunity district” where voters will have a fighting chance to elect a second Black member of Congress for the first time since Reconstruction.

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‘Just a First Step’: FEC Advances Petition Calling for Ban on Deepfakes in Political Campaigns

“The need to regulate deepfakes and other deceptive uses of AI in election ads becomes more urgent with each passing day,” said Lisa Gilbert of -Public Citizen.-

By Julia Conley Published 8-10-2023 by Common Dreams

Deepfake of Barack Obama Screenshot: CBS News

Government watchdog Public Citizen on Thursday urged U.S. voters to help “ramp up pressure” on the Federal Elections Commission and pressure the panel to open an official rulemaking process regarding the use of deepfakes—false video content generated by artificial intelligence—in 2023 election campaign ads, after the FEC announced it would advance the group’s related petition.

After two separate requests by Public Citizen in recent months, the FEC unanimously voted to open a 60-day public comment period on the petition, which calls for rulemaking to clarify the meaning of “fraudulent representation” in federal law, making clear that campaigns that use “deliberately deceptive AI-produced content” will be penalized.

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