Disclosure & Transparency

Sean McMorris, transparency, ethics and accountability program manager for California Common Cause, said super PACs are likely spending more in this race because it's an open seat. McMorris added that even if there's no coordination between candidates and the super PACs, these groups support candidates who they think would best protect the groups' interests. "It sends a strong message," McMorris told San Jose Spotlight. "They're hoping in one way or another that the candidate feels some type of obligation toward them once they're in office and with that obligation, that opens doors potentially for them to get access and influence over the candidate once they're actually seated." McMorris said looking at a super PAC's donors lets voters see which special interests support certain candidates. "At a minimum, they don't want to make any enemies," McMorris said. "All these special interests are fighting to get the person who -- out of all those candidates -- is going to be the most beneficial to them."

Andrew Barton of Colorado Common Cause, who supports the measure, said his organization has conducted an independent analysis of social media posts and that the study revealed an increasing prevalence of "misinformation" about candidates for office, election processes, and the validity of the country's voting system. "Our democratic institutions only work when we can all engage with them accurately and honestly," Barton said. "Because of the threat of misinformation and disinformation, it's imperative that data around how such information is spread through online media sources can be gathered and examined so the legislature can develop data-driven solutions that help build understanding and trust within our political systems."

Jonathan Mehta Stein is a co-founder of The California Initiative for Technology and Democracy, a project of good government group California Common Cause, which has been advising legislators on the threats emerging technologies pose to democracy. He points to the growing use of AI in elections across the world as evidence it's no longer a theoretical, but an active practice. In the first month of 2024, deepfakes promulgating misinformation in Bangladeshi and Slovakian elections proved to be significant election disruptions. Here in the United States, AI-generated content is met with considerable concern on the heels of rising political violence and distrust in election processes. "All of these new technologies that can deceive voters and undermine elections are coming on the heels of other depressing trends," Stein said. "In our democracy, trust in institutions and in the media are all-time lows. Beliefs that our elections are being run securely and votes are counted accurately are in doubt among huge percentages of the American population."

"It's a perfect example of something that is in the public interest," John Marion Jr., executive director of Common Cause Rhode Island, said Thursday about the Washington Bridge emails.

Ishan Mehta, media and democracy program director for Common Cause, said the calls in New Hampshire last month represented "only the tip of the iceberg" and warned that "it is critically important that the FCC now use this authority to fine violators and block the telephone companies that carry the calls." Mehta called on Congress to pass the Protect Elections from Deceptive AI Act, which would prohibit the distribution ofdeceptive AI-generated audio, images, or video relating to federal candidates in political ads. "We hope that both the House and the Senate will follow the example of the FCC," said Mehta, "whose Democratic and Republican commissioners recognized the threat posed by AI and came together in a unanimous vote to outlaw robocalls utilizing AI voice-cloning tools."

The legislation has also received support from non-profit pro-democracy groups such as Public Citizen and Common Cause Hawaii. Camron Hurt, program manager for Common Cause Hawaii, called the threat of AI deepfakes “a big issue for democracy right now.” “The cat’s out of the bag, technology has outpaced our laws. But now we must catch up and it’s important that we spearhead and that we help lead that charge and make sure that harmful AI deep fakes and alike are removed from any way of being in our elections," Hurt said.