While combating interference from malign actors is a whole-of-society endeavor, government is arguably the most important actor in protecting democracies from them, as the below actions demonstrate. Here are a few more. Thread 🧵
1/As @rickhasen correctly noted in a recent @nytimes op-ed, #election2020 and its aftermath are now leading to efforts by some to try and undermine the integrity of the vote count, itself. Here are a few things Biden should try and do in the next 100 days to counteract this push.
2/Advocate for the fast replacement of any voting system that does not produce a paper record of the vote. Paper trails can ensure that the votes were properly counted and provide more confidence in the voting system, which can be helpful in countering any voting machines lies.
PA and GA used such a system to help show that their #election2020 results were accurate. And U.S. allies like Germany and the Netherlands have already taken such a step to ensure that their elections are protected from interference by authoritarian actors like Russia.
3/Advocate for robust post-election audits for any place that does not already do them. A paper-based voting system, in and of itself, does not ensure the accuracy & integrity of election results. To do that, the paper trail must be used to independently audit the vote count.
Risk-limiting audits are seen by many as ideal b/c they provide strong evidence that the reported winner is the winner and the loser is the loser. But even other kinds of audits, such as % based audits, can help reinforce the accuracy and security of the voting system.
4/Encourage more places to conduct procedural election audits. Unlike post-election audits, this isn't a check on whether the voting system software and hardware worked, but rather a check on the human processes to confirm how well-run the election was. ncsl.org/research/elect…
7/@OttawaElections recently published such a report following its #election2020 that shows where it had great success and where it can improve a bit more to make its systems even better. miottawa.org/Departments/Co…
8/Such audits can both give the public an even closer look at the election process and make it harder for conspiracy theorists hell bent on damaging our democracy from doing so.
My apologies. I accidentally got tripped up on the numbering for this tweet thread. It has 9 separate tweets and goes to "8".

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More from @davidalanlevine

29 Apr
Removing @VerifiedVoting's Mark Lindeman and replacing him with Board Member Breton's preferred choice would be unwise for many reasons
1/Lindeman is as experienced as almost anyone with election audits. verifiedvoting.org/team/#mark Don't trust me? Ask the countless election officials he's worked previously with across the country.
2/Breton's choice for the town audit designee is a wolf in sheep's clothing. He's currently part of an Arizona "Audit" effort that's doing far more right now to subvert #election2020 than validate it. brennancenter.org/sites/default/…
Read 4 tweets
29 Apr
It will interesting to see whether this forensic audit leads New Hampshire to take additional steps on the post-election audit front. Thread 🧵eagletribune.com/news/new_hamps… | Windham picks designee to work on forensic audit
1/A large majority of states already require some type of post-election audit to help ensure that any errors or manipulation during the tabulation of votes is caught and rectified. New Hampshire is not among them. ncsl.org/research/elect…
2/However, the New Hampshire Secretary of State’s office has been studying audits and conducting test audits to understand how they might work for future elections. nhpr.org/post/nh-offici…
Read 4 tweets
28 Apr
This is really disheartening because it's a false choice. Thread 🧵 thefulcrum.us/congress/nbc-v…
1/Its widely known that one of the best ways to counter the threat of election interference from malign actors is for as many people to vote as possible.
2/Good election security often promotes voter access. For example, properly implemented online voter registration systems not only make the voter registration process more secure but more accessible as well, particularly during the coronavirus pandemic.
Read 5 tweets
28 Apr
Now that the ban on Arizona media covering @ArizonaAudit is over, below are some things that the media (and other observers, if possible) should try and take note of as the Arizona "audit/recount" progresses. Thread🧵
1/The people that are now administering it. Do any of them have previous experience serving as poll workers or administering elections? What are their partisan affiliations? Were they trained for the audit beforehand? These are relevant to the legitimacy of the "audit/recount".
2/Whether the people now performing the "audit/recount" appear to understand its procedures and are adhering to them. There was previous reporting that some workers may be doing this work with too little rest and/or food, which could increase the likelihood for errors.
Read 10 tweets
28 Mar
1/Agreed. It's hard to overstate the significance of the GA provisions that enable state legislators to interfere in the administration of the elections. While some pundits may tell you that the final product wasn't as bad as it could have been, that's frankly little consolation.
2/Don't agree with me? Ask other current or former local election administrators & see what they think if they were subject to these same or similar provisions. I'm a former one and I can't see how such provisions help foster better, non-partisan administration of our elections.
3/Election officials largely did a great job conducting #election2020, often with limited resources. Going forward, they will need more resources to meet the evolving risks to their election systems and ensure that future elections are secure as well.
Read 4 tweets
26 Mar
Yesterday, GA adopted a massive overhaul of elections that raises a number of potential concerns. Below is a copy of the full bill thanks to @stphnfwlr as well as some of my more extensive thoughts on it. documentcloud.org/documents/2052…
1/The bill removes the Secretary of State as the State Electoral Board chair. What message does it send if an election official who upholds the integrity of his state's elections is rewarded with death threats, a primary opponent who supports the big lie, and a bill like this?
2/The bill prohibits mobile voting except for emergencies. Why? While mobile voting is great for emergencies, it's also a great, secure option for early voting and takes pressure off of election day. I saw this firsthand when I worked for @AdaElections.
Read 13 tweets

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