Jessica Huseman, Votebeat

This article was originally published by Votebeat, a nonprofit news organization covering local election administration and voting

The right-wing media company that published the purported documentary and book “2000 Mules” announced late last week that it was pulling them from distribution. Salem Media Group also apologized to an Atlanta man for false claims in the film that he’d illegally cast the ballots of others.

It is the latest in a long series of hits to the film’s credibility, though the movie and its makers — Dinesh D’Souza and conservative nonprofit True the Vote — appear to still have a few lives left. ...

This story was originally published by Votebeat

Bruce Campbell, chairman of the Gillespie County Republican Party in Texas, predicted that results from the 13 GOP precincts would start trickling into the county elections office by 8:30 p.m.

By 9:30 p.m., he expressed surprise that none had returned....

This article was originally published by Votebeat, a nonprofit news organization covering local election administration and voting access.

Recently the internet has been Freaking Out about artificial intelligence. I’m sure you’ve noticed.

The worries are not unfounded. Last month, what appears to be an AI-generated robocall in a voice made to sound like President Joe Biden went out to New Hampshire voters, telling Democrats not to vote in the upcoming presidential primary because it “only enables the Republicans in their quest to elect Donald Trump.” The caller ID made the call appear as if it had come from someone associated with the Biden campaign in the state. No one seems to know who is responsible. ...

Some news: The U.S. Election Assistance Commission has fired its executive director, Steven Frid, who held the job for less than a year. Frid was the agency’s third executive director in as many years. The agency has also been without a permanent general counsel for nearly two years without even an interim counsel for a year — the temporary replacement left for a job at the Federal Emergency Management Agency last February.

The EAC has confirmed Frid’s departure. Sources with direct knowledge of the decision confirm he was fired.

The executive director and the general counsel represent the top two staff positions in the agency. That means the agency’s chief information security officer — who would otherwise be focused on crucial cybersecurity issues that are obviously relevant to 2024 — is now filling in as executive director. The agency is beginning a search for a different interim director while they look for a permanent replacement. ...

There was, as is often the case, a glaring exception to the untroubled proceedings: Hinds County, Mississippi.

Hinds County is home to Jackson, a predominantly Democratic and Black city, which has had more than its share of adversity shoveled its way in recent years. And throughout that county, precincts repeatedly ran out of ballots. Polls open at 7 a.m. and at least one precinct — McLeod Elementary in North Jackson — was out of ballots before 9 a.m. Ultimately eight others (out of a total of 110 voting precincts) would also run out of ballots. Lines were up to two hours long in some places, and some voters simply left altogether as the county responded by delivering small batches of more ballots throughout the day.

Sure, turnout was high. But it was expected to be. The state has been the setting of a surprisingly competitive gubernatorial race. ...