Voting & Elections

Common Cause Hawaii’s program manager, Camron Hurt, emphasized the need for more comprehensive changes to make Hawaii’s elections free from outside influence, more competitive and more popular. “I think those (other reforms) are all tools to fix the same wheel. Right. So I think we fixed parts of the wheel, but the wheel still isn’t moving as efficiently as it can,” Hunt said.

Good-government groups applauded the possibility of a legislative agreement, largely because it brings about stability and a measure of political certainty until the next redistricting process, after the 2030 census. Besides, said Jay Heck, executive director of Common Cause Wisconsin, “The governor’s maps are pretty darn good.”

But Gavin Geis, the executive director of Common Cause Nebraska, said the bill is unlikely to be put forward for a full vote before the state’s legislative session ends for the year on April 18. “If the bill did make it out of committee with a priority it would have to be debated on the floor, but that would definitely lead to an extended filibuster,” Geis said in a statement. “So its odds are slim.”

Opponents of the ID law, like Common Cause North Carolina's Ann Webb, point out that while its supporters say it will boost election integrity, there is virtually no evidence of the kind of individual voter fraud it would stop. "Ultimately, what the question is here is: What are we gaining from photo ID?" Webb rhetorically asked. "What's really critical at this point is that folks aren't disenfranchised by the uncertainty of what this new requirement means."

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."