John,

It’s hard to believe that we are nearly at the halfway mark through 2024. Issue One’s staff has made a lot of progress in our work to fix our broken political system and build an inclusive democracy that works for everyone.

Below are some highlights from May, but first, be sure to register for our upcoming webinar on Friday, June 7 at 12pm ET. We’ll speak with technology experts and election officials about how the information landscape has changed over the past few election cycles, the implications of a pending Supreme Court case that could further complicate coordination between public officials and private companies, and what social media companies should do in the short and long term to slow the spread of false narratives.

Election Protection

• In an open letter addressed to Senate leadership, members of our National Council on Election Integrity (NCEI), Faces of Democracy, and the Council for Responsible Social Media (CRSM) called for the enactment of federal legislation to protect our democracy and elections against growing threats posed by generative AI technologies.
• 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 Q&A series — a conversation with Amy Burgans, the clerk-treasurer for Douglas County, Nevada!
• NCEI members former Sec. of Defense Chuck Hagel and Adm. Bill Owens issued a statement in response to a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing that focused on foreign threats to our election infrastructure.
• Secretaries of State Brad Raffensperger (GA), Jocelyn Benson (MI), Al Schmidt (PA) and Adrian Fontes (AZ) — all of whom are members of Issue One’s Faces of Democracy campaign — joined Meet the Press to discuss threats to democracy ahead of November’s elections.
• NCEI Co-chairs Barbara Comstock and Tim Roemer co-authored an op-ed published in the South Bend Tribune about how Congress must protect our critical election infrastructure as they seek to protect themselves from growing threats.
• Issue One Director of Election Protection Carah Ong Whaley was quoted in an article in The Guardian about the partisan gamesmanship on Capitol Hill regarding noncitizens voting when lawmakers should be funding our critical election infrastructure.

Tech Reform

• Issue One continues to be a strong voice in efforts to protect kids online. In response to the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Innovation, Data, and Commerce voting to advance the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) and American Privacy Rights Act (APRA), CRSM Director Alix Fraser issued a statement applauding the advancement of these bipartisan safeguards that prioritize kids’ online safety and data privacy.
• CRSM Co-chair Dick Gephardt joined C-SPAN’s Washington Journal to discuss KOSA and social media safeguards. Watch the segment!
• CRSM member Kristin Bride wrote an op-ed in The Hill about what moms needed this Mother’s Day… Congress to do more to protect kids online.
• Issue One Founder and CEO Nick Penniman released a statement following a House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Communications and Technology hearing that discussed the recent bipartisan proposal to sunset Section 230.
• Jamie Neikrie, Issue One’s legislative manager for technology reform, wrote a piece in Tech Policy Press about generative AI and “artificial history.”

Don’t forget to check out and subscribe to our Substack — “The Reform Compass”! Our latest post was written by Legislative Associate Joshua Manuel Bonet about recent congressional modernization efforts and how this work is a bright spot in an era of hyperpartisanship. Check out the post!

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