Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes on Sunday joined a number of his counterparts from other states for a Meet the Press panel discussion, and the top state election official claimed that artificial intelligence (AI) will pose new “mis- and disinformation” threats during the 2024 elections.
Fontes told Meet the Press host Kristen Walker, “AI is not a new weapon. It’s an amplifier and a magnifier of mis- and disinformation,” and revealed that his office held a “tabletop exercise” that apparently involved both election officials and members of the media.
“We also had a tabletop exercise among several for elections officials for the media so that our media partners could know how to react to it and recognize it,” said Fontes after explaining he wanted election workers “familiar” with AI and to establish a “processes to deal with it and address it within each of our counties.
However, the Democrat claimed that AI poses less of a threat than threats to election officials, which Fontes said should be considered terrorism.
“Threats against election officials in the United States of America is domestic terrorism.” Fontes continued, “Terrorism is defined as a threat or violence for a political outcome. That’s what this is.”
Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson also claimed disinformation is a serious issue for her office, again citing the 2020 election.
“We welcome people to ask us questions,” said Benson, “the offshoot of all of this” “is the threats that come to everyday election officials who are just trying to do our job, and we have to also protect the people who are protecting democracy.”
Asked how his office responds to members of the public who maintain that President Joe Biden was not the rightful winner in 2020, Pennsylvania Secretary of State Al Schmidt claimed elections in that state have become safer in recent years and acknowledged his office has a duty to share information with the public.
“Elections have changed a lot in Pennsylvania in the last several years, but they’ve changed for the better. Elections have never been more safe and secure,” claimed Schmidt, citing paper ballot records and audits.
Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger claimed his office’s strategy to communicate with voters who doubt the 2020 election results involves public events.
“I do a lot of public speaking, going out and talking to groups,” said Raffensperger, claiming he regularly provides a “rear view” analysis of the 2020 election to those interested.
Despite his claim of regular public meetings, Raffensperger’s work ethic has been questioned by his critics within the state, with Georgia Lt. Governor Burt Jones declaring Raffensperger “missing” in an advertisement last November.
The panel discussion with Fontes, Raffensperger, Benson and Schmidt comes months after the Oregon Secretary of State was revealed to have used AI to flag election fraud concerns as mis-, dis-, and malinformation in 2022.
It also follows the publication of emails that confirm then-Secretary of State Katie Hobbs issued numerous demands for social media companies to remove unflattering information or posts she flagged as misinformation.
Watch the full panel discussion:
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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Pennsylvania Daily Star and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
