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    • 2024 election issues include Russia, fake videos
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    2024 election issues include Russia, fake videos

    Online Niel Posted on

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    Disinformation campaigns, problems with ballot processing and other issues at the polls have made headlines ahead of Election Day in 2024 as election officials say they trust existing safeguards for safe and fair elections.

    Officials have been bracing for trouble for months. In May, the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee warned that a 2024 election was likely it will be the most attacked by malicious foreign forces in American history. Now, some of those concerns have hit the headlines several fake videos linked to a Russian disinformation campaignaccording to US Secret Service officials.

    Meanwhile, local election officials are grappling with other issues related to counting ballots. Officials in Oregon and Washington say it’s suspicious the arsonist set fire to the ballot boxes and Pennsylvania’s undated absentee ballots remain at the center of a court battle.

    Here’s a look at the various issues surrounding the 2024 election, including allegations of misinformation by foreign governments:

    Ballots damaged in alleged arson attacks

    Officials in Oregon and Washington say an alleged arsonist set ballot boxes on fire earlier this week.

    Portland police responded to a fire at a ballot box in the Buckman neighborhood around 3:30 a.m. Monday, and police in neighboring Vancouver responded to another fire at a ballot box shortly after. The Portland fire affected only three ballots due to a fire suppression system in the collection box.

    The Vancouver fire damaged nearly 500 ballots when its fire suppression system failed. Election officials are sending new ballots to affected voters, but about six could not be identified and others may have been burned entirely, they said.

    In Oregon, Portland Police Department spokesman Mike Benner said the suspect is described as a white male in his 30s to 40s with short hair or balding, a thin to medium build and a thin face . The New York Times and ABC Newsciting anonymous sources, reported that a message that read “Free Gaza” appeared on devices used in Monday’s fires.

    “It is very possible that the suspect intends to continue targeted attacks in the area,” Benner warned.

    Fake Election Fraud Videos, Fake Russia Claims

    US intelligence officials say several fake videos depicting voter fraud were linked to a Russian disinformation campaign as Russia is working to help Trump defeat Vice President Kamala Harris in the elections.

    A video purported to show a someone who claimed to be a recent immigrant from Haiti and a friend who voted twice for Harris in Georgia. “Russian influencers” were behind the video, according to a statement from US law enforcement and intelligence agencies.

    FAKE SITES AND INFLUENCERS: Biden, DOJ accuse Russia of $10M disinformation campaign targeting 2024 election

    Another video, which accused Harris and her husband, Douglas Emhoff, of whistleblowing, is now indicted music producer Sean “Diddy” Combs of a bribery raid, was also judged to be fabricated by Russian actors and false, according to a joint statement from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), the FBI and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.

    Another featured video mail-in ballots are destroyed in Bucks County, Pennsylvaniaa key battlefield suburb. The video was created and enhanced by Russian actors, US officials said.

    DON’T LEAVE YOUR PATCH ON ELECTION DAY: 6 fake voting claims to watch out for

    Trump’s campaign accuses UK political party of interference

    Trump’s campaign filed a legal complaint last month against Britain’s ruling Labor Party, accusing it of meddling in the US election after a public LinkedIn post by the party’s chief operating officer, Sofia Patel, admitted that dozens of party workers helped campaign for Harris.

    RUSSIAN DISINFO: Feds shut down Russian AI ‘bot farm’ spreading pro-Putin disinformation

    It is not illegal for foreign nationals to serve as campaign volunteers in US elections, provided they are not compensated in any way, according to FEC rules. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said current and former Labor Party staff were campaigning on their own time and in their personal capacity.

    Trump’s campaign complaint accused Labor Party officials of “egregious foreign interference” and questioned whether there were “illegal foreign campaign contributions and interference.”

    Full Coverage: Donald Trump’s campaign accuses Britain’s ruling Labor Party of ‘blatant foreign interference’

    Chinese national charged for voting in Michigan

    A Chinese national studying at the University of Michigan, who was not named by officials, is pending charged after allegedly voting irretrievably illegally.

    The Detroit News reports the vote is still expected to count because there is no way to remove it from the system after it has been entered into a tabulator, a safeguard to protect voter privacy and prevent individual votes from being tied to voters.

    The student registered to vote Sunday using his school ID and signed a document certifying he was a U.S. citizen, the Michigan Secretary of State’s office said. Detroit News. Michigan officials have not said whether the vote has anything to do with attempted foreign election meddling.

    “Let’s be clear: Voting records are public — any citizen who attempts to vote fraudulently in Michigan will put themselves at great risk and will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” said Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson and the Washtenaw County District Attorney. Eli Savit said in a statement.

    “Non-citizen voting is an extremely isolated and rare event. Multi-state and national investigations found no evidence that large numbers of non-citizens registered to vote. Even less common is a non-citizen who actually votes.”

    Other potential voting issues in the news

    ‘Stay tuned’: Pennsylvania’s undated absentee ballots remain at the center of the court battle

    Contributing: John Bacon, Josh Meyer, Bart Jansen, Kim Hjelmgaard, Maureen Groppe and Fernando Cervantes Jr., USA TODAY

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