MEDFORD — Last November, a self-described First Amendment activist took a camera to Medford City Hall to conduct an audit of a local municipal election, he claimed. The man, representing Press NH Now, forced his way through the building, harassing voters, criticizing poll watchers over election laws and claiming election fraud.
A year later, the Medford Board of Elections is still receiving calls claiming election fraud over a video that has been viewed more than 400,000 times — for a community of approximately 60,000 inhabitants.
The 40-minute video documented the realities facing election workers across the country. Researchers are now concerned about what the rise of generative artificial intelligence will do in exacerbating disinformation attacks on the democratic process.
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Danielle Pietrantonio took over as elections manager in Medford last year after the manager featured in the video resigned. Pietrantonio said it is “disheartening” to see these attacks.
“It’s a lot harder than it was,” she said. “I mean, there’s a lot more hate to deal with. Because sometimes, you know, it can get confusing (deciphering between what’s real and what’s not).
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Some AI threats include hackers sending text messages or emails looking for login credentials; cloning audio to misinform election workers about polling station hours; and phone lines are being blocked by AI-generated calls, according to a recent report from the Brennan Center for Justice.
Pietrantonio was shocked to hear about these situations described in the report. Experts say she should have been trained in this.
David Harris, lead author of the Brennan Center report and a professor at the University of California, Berkeley, said election workers are on the “front lines” of much potential harassment.
“You have a number of people who are deliberately spreading false information about elections, about the validity of the election infrastructure itself (and) false information about the absentee voting process,” Harris said. “Then you also have candidates who deliberately use artificial intelligence to create so-called ‘deep fakes’ to confuse or mislead people about the elections.”
The rise of generative AI tools in creating false content was cited as one of the top concerns in numerous interviews with various secretaries of state during their national conference in Washington DC over the summer, according to PBS.
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According to Axios, nineteen states have passed legislation regulating the use of AI in election-related communications. With November 5 just around the corner, Massachusetts is still considering legislation regulating AI content related to the election.
Debra O’Malley, a spokesperson for Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth William Galvin, wrote in an email that the agency is focusing on the “outcome of the misinformation, rather than the format.”
“Our concerns are less about the method by which misinformation related to elections is spread and more about the effect of that misinformation,” O’Malley wrote. “No matter how disinformation is spread, it is important that voters know where to go for reliable information about elections.”
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Harris believes there is not enough awareness about the threats AI poses to election workers and the democratic process.
“I think a lot of people are still surprised when they see deep fake technology,” he said. “The more awareness we have, the better. Because we don’t require AI-generated content to be clearly labeled, it means it’s not easy for people to know what’s what.”
AI regulation of election content is needed because election workers have faced “cruel threats and intimidation” in recent years based on “defamatory statements” and “lies” about the election process, according to another Brennan Center report.
A Brennan Center survey found that 38% of election workers have faced threats, intimidation or abuse while doing their jobs, while 92% said they have increased safety for voters and election workers since 2020.
Galvin cites a “heightened distrust” about how our elections work
“What we’re seeing in some places is a heightened suspicion of electoral operations,” Galvin said during a recent television interview, without delving into specific cases. “People want to make videos. — activities that raise suspicions that are unfounded.”
Some election workers in Massachusetts recently received an email that appeared to be from a reputable national organization, but the link behind the sender was to a website with a photo of Mike Lindell, CEO of MyPillow and an active election denier, according to the Boston Globe .
Harris explained that election officials have limited resources to respond to disinformation and scan for AI-generated content, risking making these types of threats more relevant.
Researchers from the Brennan Center organized tabletop exercises in Arizona and Michigan for election officials, featuring crisis scenario exercises where participants practiced responding to simulated emergencies created using artificial intelligence.
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According to the report, it wasn’t until the last day of the training that participants realized the content was deep fakes and other AI-generated material.
Noah Praetz, another researcher on the project and chairman of the election group, said the exercise was a good opportunity for officials to learn how to “triage” a variety of cases related to AI disinformation.
“Especially with AI, some participants were really surprised by the possibilities,” Praetz said. “It was really kind of an ‘aha’ moment where people’s likeness, their voice, could be used in a very compelling way.”
Local clerks say AI is ‘an upgrade on the problem of disinformation’
Otto Frizzell, city clerk in West Springfield, said his office has not yet seen any misinformation, but still encourages people to recognize the threat it poses.
“I think the big danger is the knee-jerk reaction, that as soon as you read something you accept it as true and go from there without really digging into that source,” he said.
Frizzell said there has been training for election workers on disinformation, but not on AI.
“The AI aspect is a little ahead of the training so far,” he said. “(AI) is not a new problem, but it is certainly an upgrade from the problem of disinformation.”
Pietrantonio said misinformation has influenced voter behavior in Medford.
“There are even people calling and you know the buzzwords they hear: ‘Dominion voting machines,’” she said. “They don’t even know what that is.”
A popular election conspiracy linked the voting machines to efforts to influence the 2020 presidential election. Dominion won a $787.5 million settlement from Fox News to end a defamation lawsuit.
Juli Brazile, the city clerk in Arlington, said she doesn’t think there is much misinformation in the Massachusetts election, but she still sees risks.
“There’s always the possibility that someone will reshare information that you know comes from a bad actor,” she said. “I always encourage residents to go to the state or city website for clarity on what is happening locally, rather than believing the social media post reshared by someone else.”
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Wilmington City Clerk Elizabeth Lawrenson said phishing text messages were sent to voters in her community stating they were not registered to vote when in fact they were, and asking them to click on a link clicking.
“It was a scare tactic,” she said. “So it happens, I think (bad actors) are taking advantage of… people are excited about this, and then they get upset that maybe they’re not registered (so), they’re going to take advantage of it.”
Pietrantonio said becoming an election worker was her “dream job,” and despite the increase in threats against election workers, officials are still committed to their democratic responsibilities.
“These are just people in the community who want to help,” she said. “They want to help. They want to be part of the process.”
