House Democrats have sent letters to election officials in battleground states, asking about the impact of election “misinformation” and “disinformation” online and elsewhere.
The letters are part of an ongoing investigation into what they say is the “weaponization of misinformation and disinformation” to interfere in the electoral process.
We obtained a copy of the letter for you here.
The letters were sent by the chairs of the House Administration and House Oversight and Reform Committees, Rep. Zoe Lofgren and Rep. Carolyn Maloney, to election officials in Texas, Ohio, Arizona, and Florida. The House Democrats noted their concerns about election misinformation and disinformation, as well as new election laws that have been passed.
“The Committees are seeking to understand the scope and scale of election misinformation in your state, the impact that this flood of false information has had on election administration, the risks it poses for upcoming federal elections, and the steps that your organization and local election administrators have taken in response,” Maloney and Lofgren wrote in the letters.
“Our investigation also aims to identify steps that federal, state, and local governments can take to counter misinformation and prevent these lies from being used to undermine the legitimate vote count in future elections.”
The letters ask the election officials about what they say are the most extreme disinformation and misinformation claims they have come across and how it has affected the electoral process. The letters also ask the officials if they have faced physical and verbal threats as a result of “conspiracy theories, disinformation, or misinformation following the 2020 election.”
The legislators also raised concerns about new election laws that have been proposed or passed in each state, arguing the laws “unnecessarily involve partisan actors in election administration and could lead to the overturning of legitimate election results.”
