John,

We stay busy on multiple fronts here at Issue One as we continue our work to fix our broken political system and build an inclusive democracy that works for everyone.

We want to make sure we’re keeping you — the Issue One community — in the loop about all of that work and the progress we’re making. Here’s some of what happened in September:

Protecting Our Elections

• Issue One just released “The High Cost of High Turnover” — a hard-hitting report that shines a light on how high turnover rates among local election officials since November 2020 has diminished the level of institutional knowledge, especially in battleground states where officials have been harassed online and targeted with death threats. It was first covered by NPR. It was also covered by the Denver Post, Nevada Independent, Nevada Current, Arizona Republic, Arizona Mirror, and Raw Story, among other outlets.
• As part of our Faces of Democracy campaign, we’ve been featuring election workers from across the country to highlight the work they do on behalf of our democracy. Check out the latest installment of our Meet the Faces of Democracy series: a Q&A with Stephen Richer, the county recorder of Maricopa County, Arizona!
• ICYMI: We released “Voices,” a video that calls on Congress to invest in our election infrastructure and security.

Holding Big Tech Accountable

• We recently partnered with Public Citizen to host a virtual event that brought together a bipartisan group of congressional leaders and election officials to discuss the threats posed by generative artificial intelligence to our democracy. Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), who recently introduced bipartisan legislation that would ban deceptive AI-generated content in political ads, and Rep. Ken Buck (R-CO) were part of the call. Watch a recording of the event.
• Issue One’s Council for Responsible Social Media Director Alix Fraser wrote an opinion piece that explained why it’s time for Congress to put kids before Big Tech profits and pass the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA).
• Reminder to check out this website we developed alongside our partners to explain why KOSA is an important step to protect the wellbeing of children online.

PLUS, Issue One hosted an exclusive conversation with former House Majority Leader Richard “Dick” Gephardt (D-MO) about his new book written with Ken Grant, “535 Not 1.” Watch a recording of the event.

To stay in the loop all month long, make sure you check out IssueOne.org and follow us on X (formerly Twitter), LinkedIn, Instagram, and Facebook!

Thanks for your support,
The Issue One Team

P.S. Join Issue One’s Council for Responsible Social Media on Wednesday, October 4th, at 2pm ET for “It's Bigger Than TikTok” — an event that will convene experts in national security, technology, and democracy for an analysis of the national security threats posed by social media, and how we can move beyond single-platform bans to comprehensive solutions.