Battleground state officials say foreign enemies using misinformation to ‘undermine’ democratic process

Two state officials in battleground states Arizona and Pennsylvania on Sunday warned American voters that foreign adversaries are trying to sow distrust in U.S. democracy with misinformation about non-citizens voting in the 2024 presidential election.

Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes and Secretary of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Al Schmidt were both asked during an appearance on CBS’ “Face the Nation” about U.S. intelligence that shows Russia using a fake video and online posts to spread allegations about the possibility of non-citizens voting in the federal election.

“It’s clear that bad faith foreign actors are seeking to undermine confidence in our election results,” Schmidt said. “The video that you’re referring to from Bucks County to anyone who has years of experience in election administration was conspicuously fake. But if you don’t, it’s so easy for people to be sort of deceived by others trying to undermine confidence in our system of government.”

Fontes said that foreign enemies “want to sow distrust in our democracy” and divide Americans further, adding that the source of a lot of this “misinformation” comes from outside the U.S. and is then amplified by people in America who are helping these adversaries.

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“The allegation that this is something that might turn an election or is something much bigger than it is, that’s the nonsense that we are dealing with,” Fontes said. “And unfortunately, we still have candidates, elected officials and folks with large megaphones lying. They are directly lying to the American public and they are basically playing the role of useful idiots.”

Fontes further encouraged Americans to “stop being a Russian puppet” and to “look to the folks who are actually doing the work.”

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“Ask them what’s actually happening and go with the truth instead of amplifying lies from foreign adversaries,” he said.

Schmidt said that voter fraud is “incredibly rare” and noted “how easy it is to catch.”

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“There are safeguards in the system from tooth to tail to make sure that voter fraud, in the few instances it does occur, is identified, investigated and responsibly prosecuted,” he said.