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Top threats to US election security
As Election Day approaches, US cybersecurity chief Jen Easterly warns that while America’s voting systems are more secure than ever, the period between voting and certification remains vulnerable, with foreign adversaries poised to exploit any internal divisions during this critical time.
In a wide-ranging interview with Ian Bremmer on GZERO World before Election Day, Easterly, the director of Homeland Security's Center for Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, discussed the massive improvements to the nation’s voting systems and emphasized: “with great confidence that election infrastructure has never been more secure.”
However, as for that sensitive period, after votes are counted and reported but before they are officially certified, Easterly is much more concerned. "Between November 5th and January 6th—when the Congress is going to certify the vote—our foreign adversaries are going to go hog wild.” She points to intelligence that Russia, China, Iran, and other US adversaries will be waiting to exploit any internal divisions. But they can only exploit what is already there, and if 2020 taught us anything, it is that the certification of election results is far from a formality. Can we hold it together long enough to peacefully transfer power? Let's hope that this election cycle past is not prologue.
GZERO World with Ian Bremmer, the award-winning weekly global affairs series, airs nationwide on US public television stations (check local listings).
New digital episodes of GZERO World are released every Monday on YouTube. Don't miss an episode: subscribe to GZERO's YouTube channel and turn on notifications (🔔).
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US election security and the threats of foreign interference: CISA Director Jen Easterly discusses
Listen: On the GZERO World podcast, Ian Bremmer sits down with Jen Easterly, the top US official behind America’s election security infrastructure. As Director of Homeland Security's Center for Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), she is on the frontlines of safeguarding the voting process. In their conversation, Easterly talks about the massive improvements to the nation’s voting systems and emphasizes “with great confidence that election infrastructure has never been more secure.” Yet what worries Easterly is the potential for election meddling and disinformation after voting ends and before certification is complete.
Easterly discusses how the "firehose of disinformation" can have serious consequences on the country. She calls out Trump and other political leaders who have peddled false narratives pushed by foreign actors—a move that risks eroding public trust in our democracy. Again, though, her main concern is for that volatile period after the votes are cast and before they're certified. She argues that "between November 5th and January 6th—when the Congress is going to certify the vote—our foreign adversaries are going to go hog wild.” In particular, threats coming from Russia, China, and Iran. So as voters head to the polls, Easterly and her agency are making it a priority to rebuild trust and confidence with American voters.
Subscribe to the GZERO World Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, or your preferred podcast platform, to receive new episodes as soon as they're published.
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Ian Explains: Your vote is secure, so why are you still worried?
As Americans head to the polls, election officials face the dual challenge of safeguarding both the voting process and public confidence in it, with foreign adversaries and domestic actors ready to exploit any lingering doubts about election integrity. On Ian Explains, Ian Bremmer discusses the roots of Americans’ mistrust in the security of their votes, even though election systems are indeed secure.
GZERO World with Ian Bremmer, the award-winning weekly global affairs series, airs nationwide on US public television stations (check local listings).
New digital episodes of GZERO World are released every Monday on YouTube. Don't miss an episode: subscribe to GZERO's YouTube channel and turn on notifications (🔔).
Key Supreme Court decisions; how coronavirus impacts US election
Jon Lieber, managing director for the United States at Eurasia Group, shares his insights on US politics:
How is coronavirus jeopardizing the legitimacy of a 2020 presidential election?
Well, what coronavirus is doing is a lot of states are worrying about people who aren't going to want to come to the polling places in the fall, and they're worried about a shortage of polling workers who are going to want to come out and volunteer to get sick by interacting with a bunch people in person. So, what they're doing is they're looking at making a shift to vote-by-mail. Most states allow some form of absentee balloting today. Five states just automatically mail you a ballot and they don't do any in-person voting. But the challenge here is that a lot of states are unprepared for the sharp increase that's expected. In the last election, 25% of ballots were cast by mail. You may see 50, 60 or even more percent of ballots cast by mail this time, which could overwhelm election administration, which happens at the state level.
If this happens, the loser may have grounds to claim that there was voter fraud, vote suppression, there was something wrong with the counting of the ballots or some of the machines broke down. That could take a challenge all the way to Congress or to the Supreme Court. Making potentially a very messy cycle if a close election. If it's a blowout, less of a concern.
The Supreme Court has been busy recently. What are some of the big decisions that they made?
Well, they allowed a number of unlawful immigrants who were brought here as children to stay. They extended the 1964 Civil Rights Act to sexual orientation and gender identity. They struck down a controversial Louisiana abortion law. And they allowed prosecutors in New York to get access to the president's financial records. There are a number of conservatives who weren't happy with these decisions and are particularly unhappy with John Roberts, a Bush appointee, who is thought to be a conservative, who is the swing vote in some of these cases. Some observers are saying that Roberts is trying to prevent the institution from becoming just another partisan political institution, like Congress, by preventing 5-4 decisions that go one way. However, remember that President Trump has reshaped the lower courts, appointing over 200 judges since he first came into office, filling every circuit court available, the most since Jimmy Carter. That legacy is likely to outlast President Trump and it could outlast Chief Justice John Roberts.
Attacks in the US, Equality Act, and Voter Suppression
With only a week left until Americans head to the polls, POLITICO's Ben White delves into the impact of the recent attacks on the midterms, the issues at play, the Equality Act, and voter suppression. It's US Politics in 60 Seconds!
Ready? Let's go!
And go deeper on topics like cybersecurity and artificial intelligence at Microsoft Today in Technology.