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league of women voters
Federal Lawsuit Targets Use of AI Deepfakes to Attack Voting Rights
"Fraudulently made robocalls have the potential to devastate voter turnout by flooding thousands of voters with intimidating, threatening, or coercive messages in a matter of hours."
Mar 14, 2024
New Hampshire residents and voting rights groups on Thursday launched a federal lawsuit against a Democratic consultant and two companies behind January robocalls featuring audio that mimicked Democratic U.S. President Joe Biden's voice using artificial intelligence to discourage recipients from participating in the state's primary election.
"These types of voter suppression tactics have no place in our democracy," declared Celina Stewart, chief counsel at the League of Women Voters (LWV) of the United States. "Voters deserve to make their voices heard freely and without intimidation."
"For over 100 years, the League of Women Voters has worked to protect voters from these unlawful crimes and will continue to fight back against bad-faith actors who aim to disrupt our democratic system," added Stewart, whose group is part of the case.
The complaint—filed by the nonprofit Free Speech for People (FSFP) and a pair of law firms on behalf of three voters as well as the state and national arms of the LWV—accuses consultant Steve Kramer, Life Corporation, and Lingo Telecom of violating New Hampshire election laws along with the federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act and Voting Rights Act with the robocalls.
"These deceptive robocalls attempted to cause widespread confusion among New Hampshire voters," noted Liz Tentarelli, president of the state's LWV. "As a nonpartisan organization, the League of Women Voters works to ensure that all voters, regardless of their party affiliation, have the most accurate election information to make their voices heard. We will continue to advocate for New Hampshire voters and fight against malicious schemes to suppress the vote."
NBC reports that NH voters are getting robocalls with a deepfake of Biden’s voice telling them to not vote tomorrow.
“it’s important that you save your vote for the November election.”https://t.co/LAOKRtDanK pic.twitter.com/wzm0PcaN6H
— Alex Thompson (@AlexThomp) January 22, 2024
Looking toward a November election in which Biden is expected to face Republican former President Donald Trump, voting rights advocates and artificial intelligence experts are sounding the alarm about the potential impact of AI, especially deepfakes—audio or video that convincingly appears to show someone doing or saying something they never did.
"Fraudulently made robocalls have the potential to devastate voter turnout by flooding thousands of voters with intimidating, threatening, or coercive messages in a matter of hours," warned FSFP senior counsel Courtney Hostetler. "No one should abuse technology to make lawful voters think that they should not, or cannot safely, vote in the primaries or in any election. It is an honor to represent the League of Women Voters and the other plaintiffs in this important case to protect the right to vote."
The complaint asks the U.S. District Court for the District of New Hampshire for a permanent, nationwide injunction to prevent Kramer and both companies "from producing, generating, or distributing AI-generated robocalls impersonating any person, without that person's express, prior written consent," as well as monetary and punitive damages.
The Associated Pressreported that "a spokesperson for Kramer declined to comment on the lawsuit, saying his attorneys had not yet received it. Lingo Telecom and Life Corporation did not immediately respond to messages requesting comment."
After the New Hampshire robocalls started getting national media coverage, the state Attorney General's Office and Federal Communications Commission began investigating, which resulted in cease-and-desist orders. The FCC also announced last month a rule declaring such calls are illegal under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act.
While welcoming the move, Robert Weissman, president of the consumer advocacy group Public Citizen, noted that "the act's prohibition on use of 'an artificial or prerecorded voice' generally does not apply to noncommercial calls and nonprofits. So the FCC's new rule will not cure the problem of AI voice-generated calls related to elections."
Public Citizen and other critics of influencing elections with artificial intelligence have demanded action from Congress and the Federal Election Commission‚ whose chair, Sean Cooksey, said in January the FEC "will resolve the AI rulemaking by early summer."
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Women to Unite for 'She Speaks' Virtual Assembly Marking March on Washington's 60th Anniversary
"Extremist lawmakers are using state capitols to subvert our democracy and erode voting rights, denying living wages, and suppressing access to healthcare, all while concentrating this rich nation's wealth," said Hanna Broome of AME Zion Church.
Aug 28, 2023
Six decades after civil rights and labor groups held the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, women from across the country plan to come together Monday evening for a virtual "She Speaks" mass assembly to honor female leaders from 1963 and draw attention to issues that persist today.
"While numerous brave and brilliant women—including Rosa Parks, Dorothy Day, Fannie Lou Hamer, Anna Arnold Hedgeman, Diane Nash, Dorothy Height, and Mahalia Jackson—were central voices behind the March on Washington, they were not given the chance to speak," organizers said in a statement. "Sixty years later, thousands of women are joining together at the Lincoln Memorial and speaking out to ensure not another anniversary goes by where women's voices aren't central to the conversation."
As Meghan Weaver of Stanford University's Martin Luther King Jr. Research and Education Institute detailed last year, Parks said a quick "hello" and "thank you" to the 1963 crowd, the NAACP's Daisy Bates delivered a couple of brief remarks, and actress and activist Lena Horne shouted "Freedom!" into the microphone. According to the researcher, activist and entertainer Josephine Baker "spoke for just over two minutes, in the longest address that day by a woman."
Speakers for Monday's event include Hanna Broome of AME Zion Church; Rev. Kazimir Brown of Repairers of the Breach; Mary Kay Henry of the Service Employees International Union; Rabbi Sheila Katz of the National Council of Jewish Women; Roz Pelles of the Center for Public Theology & Public Policy at Yale Divinity School; Ai-Jen Poo of the National Domestic Workers Alliance; Joy Reid of MSNBC; Karen Georgia A. Thompson of United Church of Christ; and members of Black Voters Matter, Beloved Community, and the League of Women Voters.
"Women refuse to stay silent as we fight back against the most pressing issues harming our communities today," declared Broome. "Right now across the country, extremist lawmakers are using state capitols to subvert our democracy and erode voting rights, denying living wages, and suppressing access to healthcare, all while concentrating this rich nation's wealth into fewer and fewer hands."
"Until the systemic injustices that have been plaguing our communities end," she vowed, "we will continue to make our voices heard across the nation."
During the assembly—set to be livestreamed at 6:00 ET—speakers plan to "demand a lifesaving agenda that includes living wages, voting rights, reproductive healthcare, and more," according to organizers.
"Sixty years ago, the agenda of the March on Washington was to raise the minimum wage 75% to a living wage, expand and protect voting rights, secure healthcare for all, and expand the Labor Standards Act to end racial discrimination," noted Bishop William Barber, who is expected to speak at the event. "Today, we are not finished with that agenda."
"Right now, 73 million women make up our nation's poor and low-wealth population. And millions of these women continue to be impacted by voter suppression," he added. "At a time when poverty is the fourth leading cause of death in our nation, these women are calling on all people of moral conscience—regardless of race, gender, or political affiliation—to join the fight for the moral soul of our nation and call out these attacks on our rights. We need all voices in this movement. This 60th anniversary is not an occasion just for nostalgia, it is a moment for action."
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Florida GOP Send 'Egregious' Voter Suppression Bill to DeSantis
"We can't disregard, given recent history, that the Legislature's unspoken intent, once again, is to impose barriers and confuse voters," the Miami Herald's editors wrote.
Apr 28, 2023
Voting rights defenders on Friday condemned the Republican-controlled Florida Legislature's passage of a bill that critics said will make it harder to register Black and Latino voters while easing the way for Gov. Ron DeSantis to seek the 2024 GOP presidential nomination.
The Florida House of Representatives passed S.B. 7050 by a 76-34 party-line vote after the state Senate approved the measure—which DeSantis is expected to sign into law—earlier this week.
S.B. 7050 would boost the power of Florida's Office of Election Crimes and Security to review and conduct preliminary investigations into "any alleged election irregularity" and "make referrals for further legal action."
Under the proposal, voter registration groups could be fined up to $250,000 per year—penalties are currently capped at $50,000— for failing to submit completed registration applications to officials within 10 days.
"We can't disregard, given recent history, that the Legislature's unspoken intent, once again, is to impose barriers and confuse voters," the Miami Herald's editorial board wrote in response to the legislation.
\u201cMultiple voting rights organizations have opposed the bill, arguing that these measures will \u201cmake it harder for Floridians to register and vote, and undermine Florida\u2019s election administration."\u201d— Black Voters Matter Fund (@Black Voters Matter Fund) 1682547588
An amendment to the bill allows Florida's governor to run for federal office without having to resign, a measure largely seen as opening the door for DeSantis to run for president.
In a letter sent Tuesday to Florida legislative leaders, officials from dozens of civil and voting rights groups warned that S.B. 7050 would "make it harder for Floridians to register and vote, and undermine Florida's election administration."
Mary Kay Rosinski, co-president of the League of Women Voters Villages/Tri-County, noted that the bill would:
- Create more barriers to conducting voter registration drives;
- Establish steeper fines for volunteer, community-based registration groups;
- Add more restrictions on mail-in ballots;
- Give the Office of Election Crimes and Security expanded authority to investigate and prosecute alleged election violations; and
- Remove the government's liability for issuing voter registration cards to returning citizens whose voting rights have not been restored.
According to the progressive advocacy group Common Cause, one of the letter's signers:
Provisions within the bill specifically target community-based voter registration groups with enormous fines and draconian new restrictions. These groups have made it possible for many Floridians to exercise their right to vote: One out of every 10 Black and Latino voters and one out of every 50 white voters in Florida have registered with the support of these organizations. These groups are especially important for Floridians who do not possess a Florida driver's license or Florida state ID, making them unable to use the state's online voter registration system.
In a particularly egregious restriction, this discriminatory legislation prohibits legal immigrants, Green Card holders, and people who are in the process of becoming U.S. citizens from helping register voters with community-based groups under threat of a $50,000 fine per person. These individuals make up a big part of the workforce to connect with eligible voters who face language barriers.
"This is the third year in a row Florida's lawmakers have changed our voting rules, attacked community-based groups who support voters, and implemented unnecessary and confusing barriers for Floridians looking to participate in our democracy, while making no investment in voter education at all," Common Cause Florida program director Amy Keith said in a statement.
"This makes clear their real aim: to suppress our voting rights and silence the voices of eligible Florida voters who want a more inclusive future for our state," Keith added. "We need a democracy that works for everyone, and our Florida leaders should be targeting the wealthy special interests that dominate our politics, not everyday Floridians who deserve to exercise their right to vote without barriers."
S.B. 7050's passage by Florida lawmakers comes a day after a federal appeals court handed DeSantis a victory by overturning a lower judge's ruling blocking provisions of S.B. 90, a massive attack on voting rights signed by the governor in 2021. The law empowers partisan poll watchers, imposes strict voter ID requirements, criminalizes so-called "ballot harvesting," limits ballot drop boxes, and bans advocacy groups from handing out food or water to voters waiting in long lines.
\u201cBREAKING: 11th Circuit issues opinion about Florida voter suppression law #SB90. The court reverses most of the lower court's ruling, which struck down provisions of the law for racial discrimination. More to come. Read the ruling: https://t.co/mcjfJ9IN8E\u201d— Democracy Docket (@Democracy Docket) 1682618019
Progressives also condemned DeSantis' February signing of S.B. 4, a so-called "election crimes" law described by the Brennan Center for Justice as "an unnecessary and wasteful expansion of state prosecutorial power that could intimidate eligible voters with past convictions from exercising their right to vote."
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