Take 5 for Democracy: Kathy Boockvar

A series where trusted advisors of Business for America answer five questions to elicit their unique insights and inspire the business community into action. Leaning into their specific expertise, we explore the challenges and opportunities that they predict and how businesses can take action to address them.

This month, we welcome former Pennsylvania Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar, now president of Athena Strategies, and former vice president of election pperations for the Center for Internet Security.

1. Having served as secretary of state for Pennsylvania, what concerns you the most about the 2024 election?

One of my biggest concerns is the continuing proliferation of mis- and disinformation, fabricated conspiracy theories, and intentional tearing down of trust and faith in our electoral processes and institutions. All of these have led to an increase in threats against election officials, including doxing, swatting, intimidation, and harassment. As we move closer to Election Day and the post-election period, I am concerned about insider threats, including refusals to certify results or other efforts to delay or thwart certification. And regardless of who wins the November election, I am troubled by the tension and distrust that is rampant, and I fervently implore all parties, candidates, and officials to gracefully accept the results of the election and urge their supporters to do the same and remain peaceful.

2. What operational challenges are state and local election officials facing with less than 100 days till Nov 5?

Election officials continue to be overworked, underpaid, understaffed, and under-resourced, while concurrently having to manage increasing challenges. These challenges include threats and intimidation as described above, as well as cybersecurity needs, AI’s exacerbation of mis- and disinformation and phishing, and inordinate levels of record requests and other demands and accusations. Additionally, due to many of these challenges, there has been a significant turnover of local election officials, leading to a reduction in historical knowledge and experience in election operations. Having said all that, election officials are truly heroes, professionals who work harder than almost anyone I know to make sure that all of us can cast our votes securely and know that they will be counted accurately!

3. What impact could deceptive AI have on voters’ perceptions of candidates, political issues, and the election process?

AI can be used to exacerbate the types and spread of disinformation and deceptive communications, as well as increase the effectiveness of cyber and other threats. Audio and video deepfakes have already manifested in other countries’ elections in efforts to influence people’s votes. AI-generated images and videos were used to send deceptive messages to voters in Argentina. In Slovakia just before their highly contested election, fake AI-generated audio appeared falsely alleging to be a party leader and journalist discussing how to rig the election. And of course, we also saw deepfake robocalls in the New Hampshire primary earlier this year. AI-generated texts and calls could also mimic a real conversation — and perhaps appear to be from a person known to the recipient — and could give false information about voting to attempt to hinder a person’s ability to vote.

4. What can legislation do to address the explosion of deepfakes, particularly in Congress at the federal level?

Bipartisan legislation has been introduced and passed in many states across the country of every partisan stripe, mitigating risks of deepfakes while being narrowly tailored to not impinge on constitutional rights. You can learn about many of them from the Brennan Center for Justice AI reports and trackers. Oftentimes legislation is limited in time — for example to 90 days before an election — and many opt for labeling and disclosure and other guardrails rather than outright bans. Bills have also been introduced in Congress on a range of AI-related issues, including the Protect Elections from Deceptive AI Act (S.2770). This bill is co-sponsored by Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Josh Hawley (R-MO) and would prohibit the use of purposely misleading AI-generated audio or video of a federal candidate in a political ad, with exceptions for parody and satire. I appreciate that Business for America is building business support for this bill’s passage.

5. What specific actions can the business community and the private sector take to mitigate the risks of deceptive AI influencing our elections?

Disinformation has thousands of tentacles — and with AI perhaps millions. This means that any hope for solutions must also have thousands of vectors, and it will take every one of us to help mitigate the risks. In addition to advocating for effective legislation, the business community can be very helpful at informing their employees, customers, and stakeholders about the types of deceptive AI that might manifest in the lead up to, on, and following Election Day. The key is to inform and empower, including making sure voters understand they can confirm the accuracy of any communication and learn more about how elections work, by contacting their local election official and by visiting official election websites. Many helpful official election sites can be found on this National Association of State Election Director voter resource site. And the business community can also help encourage their employees and stakeholders to be poll workers, playing critical roles in our democracy!

About Kathy Boockvar

• As president of Athena Strategies Kathy works with a broad base of organizations, officials, and institutions to strengthen election security and amplify understanding and civil discourse about U.S. elections.
• She is also a proud founding member of the Committee for Safe and Secure Elections (CSSE), a cross-sector collaboration of election officials, law enforcement, federal agencies, and nonpartisan organizations working to help protect election workers, voters, and infrastructure. CSSE has been creating extensive resources and training for law enforcement and election officials to help ensure the safety and security of our election operations.
• One of her missions is to increase dissemination of clear, easy to understand, shareable multimedia information about how elections work. Towards this end she has begun collecting a resource library of helpful materials from all around the country. She encourages all who are aware of good shareable materials to please submit them to Athena.
• Kathy also serves as senior advisor to the Brennan Center for Justice, the Institute for Responsive Government, and The Future U.S.

Learn more about Business for America at bfa.us.