The US election was largely trouble-free, but a flood of misinformation raises future concerns

WASHINGTON (AP) — A comparatively trouble-free statesmanlike predetermination was bully news for those moving to reconstruct religion successful nan system. Less encouraging was a flood of misinformation that sought to undermine spot successful voting and sow chaos, thing experts opportunity is apt to get worse successful nan years ahead.

The astir important trial for officials connected Election Day was a series of explosive threats reported successful 5 battleground states, immoderate of which forced polling places to beryllium evacuated temporarily. The time different played retired for illustration astir different predetermination days, pinch only regular problems, and erstwhile President Donald Trump’s commanding lead allowed nan statesmanlike title to beryllium called early Wednesday morning.

“High turnout and wide margins – that’s each we ever dream for,” said Zach Manifold, nan elections supervisor successful Gwinnett County, Georgia.

The much than 84 cardinal group who voted early, either successful personification aliases by mail, eased nan crush connected Tuesday and provided predetermination workers pinch much elasticity to respond to unexpected problems.

“Yesterday and nan predetermination play was a awesome illustration of really early voting is truthful important to support security, and really it really minimized and mitigated immoderate of nan threats that we saw,” David Becker, a erstwhile U.S. Justice Department lawyer who leads nan Center for Election Innovation and Research, said nan time aft Election Day.

When nan explosive threats came successful – starting early successful nan time successful nan Atlanta area and past spreading to Arizona, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin — predetermination officials were prepared. They had spent nan amended portion of nan twelvemonth meeting pinch section rule enforcement, training done various scenarios and updating their emergency plans.

“I saw professionals each crossed nan state saying, ‘OK, here’s what we’re going to do,’” said Carolina Lopez, a erstwhile section predetermination charismatic who leads nan Partnership for Large Election Jurisdictions.

The FBI said nan threats appeared to originate from Russian email domains, though national cybersecurity officials cautioned nan culprits were not needfully Russian.

Interference from Russia and different overseas adversaries was a changeless taxable moving done predetermination season.

Russia, Iran and China steadily accrued their usage of English-language disinformation successful nan months starring up to Election Day, Their motives varied, but their strategies were similar: utilizing networks of bogus societal media accounts and websites to dispersed contented designed to erode assurance successful predetermination information and American democracy.

Russia was peculiarly audacious, creating and spreading staged videos that aimed to smear Vice President Kamala Harris and her moving mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz. The Kremlin’s efforts this twelvemonth besides progressive paying a Tennessee media company $10 cardinal to nutrient pro-Russian content.

“Russia intelligibly interfered successful this election,” said Brian Taylor, a governmental subject professor and Russia master astatine Syracuse University. He said Russia’s objectives were to “help Trump and to sow chaos much mostly — though location is nary grounds that their activities changed nan outcome.”

Experts opportunity America’s adversaries are playing a agelong game, utilizing disinformation to undermine Americans’ assurance successful their ain state and gradually diminish U.S. power. Russia, successful particular, preferred Trump arsenic a campaigner because he is seen arsenic little apt to support assistance for Ukraine, said Emerson Brooking, resident elder chap astatine nan Atlantic Council’s Digital Forensic Research Lab, which tracks overseas disinformation.

“None of this goes distant aft Election Day,” Brooking said. “What are Russia’s goals? It wasn’t to elite President Trump, but to steer nan United States successful a peculiar direction. Trump’s predetermination is 1 measurement successful that process.”

Russia, Iran and China person rejected allegations they sought to meddle pinch nan U.S. election.

Steve Simon, president of nan National Association of Secretaries of State, praised nan speedy activity done by national agencies to telephone retired nan disinformation. He said national officials had within a time identified Russia arsenic being down a viral video purporting to show elector fraud successful Georgia.

“The quality of their consequence and nan timeliness of their consequence really helped face and limit nan power of those messages,” said Simon, who serves arsenic Minnesota’s apical authorities predetermination official.

Kim Wyman, a erstwhile charismatic pinch nan U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, said nan agency had proven its worth this twelvemonth fixed nan meddling by different countries.

“What was surely demonstrated successful this predetermination is that overseas adversaries person not stopped trying to person an effect successful U.S. elections, and we expect that will proceed successful nan future,” said Wyman, who besides served arsenic Washington’s caput of state.

She said she’d for illustration nan Republican-controlled Congress to proceed supporting CISA and nan U.S. Election Assistance Commission, which useful pinch states to amended predetermination operations and certifies voting systems.

Voting authorities groups said they hoped an predetermination pinch nary awesome problems would temper talk astir making wide changes to voting procedures. During nan campaign, Trump and his friends had spoken of a desire for a azygous time of voting, pushing mendacious claims of wide elector fraud pinch message ballots. It’s not clear whether that talk will continue, fixed that Republicans flocked to early voting this twelvemonth aft Trump encouraged it.

The president-elect has been spreading election lies for years related to his re-election loss successful 2020. He many times questioned voting procedures and accused Democrats of cheating earlier and during Election Day, but stopped making those claims erstwhile he took nan lead.

“I’m hopeful that we’ll support nan things successful spot that activity for nan immense majorities of voters,” said Jay Young, elder head of voting and populist pinch Common Cause.

Young said he would beryllium concerned astir immoderate effort to restrict voting based connected mendacious claims, specified arsenic nan 1 peddled by Republicans this twelvemonth that ample numbers of noncitizens were voting. Republicans successful Congress person been pushing legislation connected nan issue.

“There is simply a batch of sound retired location that is not based successful fact,” Young said. “It’s my job, frankly, to make judge my statement and nan groups that we are portion of, that we can’t fto personification effort to prehend connected a infinitesimal successful clip to execute a governmental end.”

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Associated Press writer Ali Swenson contributed to this report.