Warning: Voter Fraud

Non-Citizen Voting In November: TTV’s 611 Project Has Answers

Non-Citizen Voting In November: TTV’s 611 Project Has Answers

by Wendi Strauch Mahoney for True the Vote

Unprecedented numbers of illegal aliens have been allowed to pour across the nation’s borders since Biden took office in 2021 because of his open borders policies. At a minimum, 10 million illegal aliens have entered our southern border alone, not including the got-aways.

Contrary to popular opinion, non-citizens do end up voting in our elections because we simply do not have universal measures in place to prevent it. Our system makes it relatively easy for non-citizens to get on the rolls and very difficult to track. However, you will never hear that from most politicians or election officials.

Engelbrecht wrote the following in an April 25, 2024, OpEd for The Blaze:

True the Vote believes non-citizen voting could be game-changing in the 2024 election. In response to the issue, Catherine Engelbrecht’s organization has produced an initiative called the 611 Project to make Americans aware of non-citizen voting and help citizens address the problem at the grassroots level.

Recent Study Confirms Large Numbers of Non-Citizen Voters in U.S. Elections

It is true that at a statutory level, non-citizens, including permanent legal residents, cannot vote in federal, state, and most local elections. However, it has always been difficult to track non-citizen voting because there is no easy one-step way of tracking that universe of voters. To make matters worse, the Biden administration has made it even easier for non-citizens to get on the rolls by flooding our borders by way of its various humanitarian parole programs and its abuse of asylum laws.

Our election system is poorly equipped to track the average number of illegals who might inadvertently appear on state voter rolls, let alone the 10 million or more who have moved into the interior United States. In the United States, it is the states and counties that maintain voter registration rolls, not the federal government.

The system poses significant challenges in tracking and purging those who do not belong on the rolls. No national database tracks illegals who might register to vote or whose identities might be used to vote. As such, illegals and non-citizens can land on voter registration rolls in a variety of ways, some of which are not necessarily purposeful or nefarious.

Just the Facts Finds 10% to 27% of Non-Citizens are Illegally Registered to Vote

A recent study by Just the Facts shows that between 10% to 27% of Non-Citizens are illegally registered to vote based on the 2022 Census records. Using well-sourced data, from a “ground-breaking” study published by Jesse Richman and two others as well as non-citizen voter registration data from 2022, Just the Facts concluded that “roughly 27% of non-citizens were registered to vote and about 16% of them voted in the 2008 national elections.” Of note, the numbers from the 2014 study were slightly lower at approximately 25% of non-citizens who were illegally registered to vote.

Notably, Just the Facts data were challenged on March 6, 2024, in an article by the Washington Post’s “lead fact checker, Glenn Kessler.” Kessler stated he had evidence from a second report from a court case, again from Jesse Richman, that seemed to vastly undercut both the 2014 study and Just the Facts data.

Kessler interpreted the data from Richman’s second report to say that only “1% of non-citizens are registered to vote.” However, Just the Facts examined Kessler’s data and reviewed its own for accuracy. In the end, the data from Just the Facts was correct. As it turns out, it seems Kessler misled readers with “half-truths,” and various statistical ruses. For more detailed information on the Just the Fact study, please read more here.

The Just the Facts data portend a 2024 election that will almost certainly reflect illegal votes cast by non-citizens. The study states that “roughly half of non-citizens who are registered to turn out to vote,” or about 5% to 13% will illegally vote in the 2024 presidential and congressional elections.

Just the Facts reports:

What is the 611 Project?

True the Vote recently launched a new initiative called the 611 Project in anticipation of the 2024 election. The 44-page 611 Project handbook articulates the issue of non-citizen voting in the U.S. As usual, True the Vote lays out a practical call to action that will help citizens engage to address the matter.

The 611 Project helps Americans become aware of the history of public policy in the U.S. that has led to where we are today with non-citizen voting. A detailed “Public Policy” timeline starting in the 1970s through the present administration summarizes the history of voting with an emphasis on the issue of non-citizen voters.

Next, the report explores some of the legal cases and loopholes that allow non-citizens to register to vote and then vote in American elections. The report moves through the many avenues available to those who would either purposely or unwittingly break the law to vote as a non-citizen. In many cases, it seems our system is “rigged” to provide myriad loopholes and make things as confusing as possible.

In an April 1 podcast, Engelbrecht discussed, among other things, the numerous ways lawfare can impact non-citizen voting. She has been the target of groups who repeatedly sue to prevent what they often disingenuously call voter suppression. These highly politicized legal maneuvers can lead to the blocking or abandonment of authentic and well-vetted efforts to maintain clean voter rolls, throwing a real wrench in the most foundational building block of free and fair elections.

Martinez Fischer v. Whitley, for example, argued a voter roll purge in Texas unfairly targeted naturalized citizens and violated their constitutional rights. According to Engelbrecht, other lawfare has limited methodology used for “data comparison and collaboration with agencies like the Department of Motor Vehicles to verify citizenship status. The State agreed to use no data source other than DMV to verify citizenship status, ceding all other available data outlets that would have offered a more thorough assessment” by cross-checking databases.

Some jurisdictions are now allowing non-citizens to vote in certain local elections, a privilege that adds to the confusion on the part of a neophyte non-citizen who is naive to the rules and laws surrounding voting. In other cases, it seems NGOs who are charged with counseling and resettling illegals are encouraging non-citizens to vote. There are a whole host of ways a non-citizen can enter the system and a paucity of ways to ensure non-citizens are not somehow allowed to vote.

There are many ways non-citizens may end up voting in a U.S. election. One recent complication resulted from Congress passing Section 611 of Title 18 of the U.S. Criminal Code in 2000, (the origin of the name of the 611 Project). It allows a person who believes he is a citizen but cannot provide proof when registering to vote to register to vote in federal elections by signing a sworn statement affirming their citizenship under penalty of perjury. What could go wrong?

According to Engelbrecht, other ways non-citizens vote are:

  • Errors in voter registration processes, such as the example above, when an illegal applies for a driver’s license and checks off the “register to vote” box.
  • Through misunderstanding or lack of information. Many non-citizens pay taxes, have green cards, or have been in the country for years. Confusion arises because they lack information, and according to Engelbrecht, “their confusion is supported by the numerous organizations that mail out voter registrations and absentee ballot request forms.
  • Assuming eligibility because of local laws. Some jurisdictions allow non-citizens to vote in local elections under specific conditions but are not permitted to vote in federal elections.
  • Intentional illegal voting to influence the outcome of an election.
  • Misrepresentation or fraud. According to Engelbrecht, non-citizens “might deliberately misrepresent their citizenship status to register and vote in elections.” This type of behavior is illegal and subject to severe penalties, but it often goes unpunished, which in turn encourages the behavior to continue.

In the end, Engelbrecht points out that many people who arrive here have no identification. In many cases, their home nations have sparse documentation regarding their identities and histories. Other countries are unwilling to share their databases. These are gaping holes that the Biden administration refuses to recognize. As a result, we are admitting millions who will effectively live as ghosts in our communities. Engelbrecht adds:

Go to the Link for more:  https://truethevote.org/news/non-citizen-voting-in-november-ttvs-611-project-has-answers

So, Who isCasting Your Vote???

Election disinformation takes a big leap with AI being used to deceive worldwide

From Bangladesh to Slovakia, AI-generated deepfakes have been undermining elections around the globe. Experts say their reach and sophistication is a sign of things to come in consequential elections later this year. (March 15)

LONDON (AP) — Artificial intelligence is supercharging the threat of election disinformation worldwide, making it easy for anyone with a smartphone and a devious imagination to create fake – but convincing – content aimed at fooling voters.

It marks a quantum leap from a few years ago, when creating phony photos, videos or audio clips required teams of people with time, technical skill and money. Now, using free and low-cost generative artificial intelligence services from companies like Google and OpenAI, anyone can create high-quality “deepfakes” with just a simple text prompt.

Experts warn AI and deepfakes will likely be worse in the coming elections.
Here’s how governments and organizations are responding to the threat.

AI-powered misinformation and disinformation is emerging as a risk as people in a slew of countries head to the polls. Read more on the 25 elections in 2024 that could change the world, and take a look at more of the AP’s global elections coverage.

A wave of AI deepfakes tied to elections in Europe and Asia has coursed through social media for months, serving as a warning for more than 50 countries heading to the polls this year.

“You don’t need to look far to see some people … being clearly confused as to whether something is real or not,” said Henry Ajder, a leading expert in generative AI based in Cambridge, England.

The question is no longer whether AI deepfakes could affect elections, but how influential they will be, said Ajder, who runs a consulting firm called Latent Space Advisory.

As the U.S. presidential race heats up, FBI Director Christopher Wray recently warned about the growing threat, saying generative AI makes it easy for “foreign adversaries to engage in malign influence.”

People are reflected in a window of a hotel at the Davos Promenade in Davos, Switzerland, Jan. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber, File)
People are reflected in a window of a hotel at the Davos Promenade in Davos, Switzerland, Jan. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber, File)

With AI deepfakes, a candidate’s image can be smeared, or softened. Voters can be steered toward or away from candidates — or even to avoid the polls altogether. But perhaps the greatest threat to democracy, experts say, is that a surge of AI deepfakes could erode the public’s trust in what they see and hear.

Some recent examples of AI deepfakes include:

— A video of Moldova’s pro-Western president throwing her support behind a political party friendly to Russia.

— Audio clips of Slovakia’s liberal party leader discussing vote rigging and raising the price of beer.

— A video of an opposition lawmaker in Bangladesh — a conservative Muslim majority nation — wearing a bikini.

 

The novelty and sophistication of the technology makes it hard to track who is behind AI deepfakes. Experts say governments and companies are not yet capable of stopping the deluge, nor are they moving fast enough to solve the problem.

As the technology improves, “definitive answers about a lot of the fake content are going to be hard to come by,” Ajder said.

ERODING TRUST

Some AI deepfakes aim to sow doubt about candidates’ allegiances.

In Moldova, an Eastern European country bordering Ukraine, pro-Western President Maia Sandu has been a frequent target. One AI deepfake that circulated shortly before local elections depicted her endorsing a Russian-friendly party and announcing plans to resign.

FILE - Moldova's President Maia Sandu, right, greets Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Bulboaca, Moldova, June 1, 2023. She has been a frequent target of online disinformation created with artificial intelligence. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda, File)
Moldova’s President Maia Sandu, right, greets Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Bulboaca, Moldova, June 1, 2023.(AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda, File)

Officials in Moldova believe the Russian government is behind the activity. With presidential elections this year, the deepfakes aim “to erode trust in our electoral process, candidates and institutions — but also to erode trust between people,” said Olga Rosca, an adviser to Sandu. The Russian government declined to comment for this story.

China has also been accused of weaponizing generative AI for political purposes.

In Taiwan, a self-ruled island that China claims as its own, an AI deepfake gained attention earlier this year by stirring concerns about U.S. interference in local politics.

The fake clip circulating on TikTok showed U.S. Rep. Rob Wittman, vice chairman of the U.S. House Armed Services Committee, promising stronger U.S. military support for Taiwan if the incumbent party’s candidates were elected in January.

FILE - Rep. Rob Wittman, R-Va., questions witnesses during a congressional hearing, on Capitol Hill, Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2023, in Washington. A fake clip circulating on TikTok showed Wittman, vice chairman of the U.S. House Armed Services Committee, promising stronger U.S. military support for Taiwan if the incumbent party's candidates were elected in January, 2024. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)
Rep. Rob Wittman, R-Va., questions witnesses during a congressional hearing, on Capitol Hill, Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2023, in Washington.(AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)

Wittman blamed the Chinese Communist Party for trying to meddle in Taiwanese politics, saying it uses TikTok — a Chinese-owned company — to spread “propaganda.”

A spokesperson for the Chinese foreign ministry, Wang Wenbin, said his government doesn’t comment on fake videos and that it opposes interference in other countries’ internal affairs. The Taiwan election, he stressed, “is a local affair of China.”

BLURRING REALITY

Audio-only deepfakes are especially hard to verify because, unlike photos and videos, they lack telltale signs of manipulated content.

In Slovakia, another country overshadowed by Russian influence, audio clips resembling the voice of the liberal party chief were shared widely on social media just days before parliamentary elections. The clips purportedly captured him talking about hiking beer prices and rigging the vote.

It’s understandable that voters might fall for the deception, Ajder said, because humans are “much more used to judging with our eyes than with our ears.”

In the U.S., robocalls impersonating U.S. President Joe Biden urged voters in New Hampshire to abstain from voting in January’s primary election. The calls were later traced to a political consultant who said he was trying to publicize the dangers of AI deepfakes.

FILE - Paul Carpenter describes AI software during an interview in New Orleans, Friday, Feb. 23, 2024. Carpenter says he was hired in January to use AI software to imitate President Joe Biden's voice to convince New Hampshire Democrat voters not to vote in the state's presidential primary. (AP Photo/Matthew Hinton)
Paul Carpenter describes AI software during an interview in New Orleans, Friday, Feb. 23, 2024. Carpenter says he was hired in January to use AI software to imitate President Joe Biden’s voice to convince New Hampshire Democrat voters not to vote in the state’s presidential primary. (AP Photo/Matthew Hinton, File)

In poorer countries, where media literacy lags, even low-quality AI fakes can be effective.

Such was the case last year in Bangladesh, where opposition lawmaker Rumeen Farhana — a vocal critic of the ruling party — was falsely depicted wearing a bikini. The viral video sparked outrage in the conservative, majority-Muslim nation.

“They trust whatever they see on Facebook,” Farhana said.

Rumeen Farhana, a politician from the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) sits for a photograph during an interview at her residence in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Thursday, Feb. 15, 2024. Farhana, a vocal critic of the ruling party, was falsely depicted wearing a bikini in a video created using artificial intelligence. The viral video sparked outrage in the conservative, majority-Muslim nation. (AP Photo/Al-emrun Garjon)
Rumeen Farhana, a politician from the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) sits for a photograph during an interview at her residence in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Thursday, Feb. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Al-emrun Garjon)

Experts are particularly concerned about upcoming elections in India, the world’s largest democracy and where social media platforms are breeding grounds for disinformation.

A CHALLENGE TO DEMOCRACY

Some political campaigns are using generative AI to bolster their candidate’s image.

In Indonesia, the team that ran the presidential campaign of Prabowo Subianto deployed a simple mobile app to build a deeper connection with supporters across the vast island nation. The app enabled voters to upload photos and make AI-generated images of themselves with Subianto.

As the types of AI deepfakes multiply, authorities around the world are scrambling to come up with guardrails.

Noudhy Valdryno, the digital coordinator for the campaign team of Indonesian presidential frontrunner Prabowo Subianto, shows the interface of a web application that allows supporters to upload photos to make AI-generated images of them with Subianto, in Jakarta, Indonesia, Wednesday, Feb. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)
Noudhy Valdryno, the digital coordinator for the campaign team of Indonesian presidential frontrunner Prabowo Subianto, shows the interface of a web application that allows supporters to upload photos to make AI-generated images of them with Subianto, in Jakarta, Indonesia, Wednesday, Feb. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)

The European Union already requires social media platforms to cut the risk of spreading disinformation or “election manipulation.” It will mandate special labeling of AI deepfakes starting next year, too late for the EU’s parliamentary elections in June. Still, the rest of the world is a lot further behind.

The world’s biggest tech companies recently — and voluntarily — signed a pact to prevent AI tools from disrupting elections. For example, the company that owns Instagram and Facebook has said it will start labeling deepfakes that appear on its platforms.

But deepfakes are harder to rein in on apps like the Telegram chat service, which did not sign the voluntary pact and uses encrypted chats that can be difficult to monitor.

Some experts worry that efforts to rein in AI deepfakes could have unintended consequences.

An advertising banner with a slogan about AI is fixed at a building at the Davos Promenade, alongside the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Jan. 18, 2024.  (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber, File)
An advertising banner with a slogan about AI is fixed at a building at the Davos Promenade, alongside the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Jan. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber, File)

Well-meaning governments or companies might trample on the sometimes “very thin” line between political commentary and an “illegitimate attempt to smear a candidate,” said Tim Harper, a senior policy analyst at the Center for Democracy and Technology in Washington.

Major generative AI services have rules to limit political disinformation. But experts say it remains too easy to outwit the platforms’ restrictions or use alternative services that don’t have the same safeguards.

Even without bad intentions, the rising use of AI is problematic. Many popular AI-powered chatbots are still spitting out false and misleading information that threatens to disenfranchise voters.

And software isn’t the only threat. Candidates could try to deceive voters by claiming that real events portraying them in an unfavorable light were manufactured by AI.

“A world in which everything is suspect — and so everyone gets to choose what they believe — is also a world that’s really challenging for a flourishing democracy,” said Lisa Reppell, a researcher at the International Foundation for Electoral Systems in Arlington, Virginia.

Swenson reported from New York. Associated Press writers Julhas Alam in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Krutika Pathi in New Delhi, Huizhong Wu in Bangkok, Edna Tarigan in Jakarta, Indonesia, Dake Kang in Beijing, and Stephen McGrath in Bucharest, Romania, contributed to this report.

from:    https://apnews.com/article/artificial-intelligence-elections-disinformation-chatgpt-bc283e7426402f0b4baa7df280a4c3fd