"2024 is an epic year for elections, with more than 70 countries going to the polls. But as we all know, elections and democracies globally are facing a raft of new and evolving digital threats, including disinformation about voters’ rights and the voting process, improper political advertising, online attacks on officials and poll workers, calls for violence, cyberattacks on elections infrastructure and trustworthy media, internet disruptions, and more. Unfortunately, election authorities often have difficulty articulating their needs for support and coordination with the technology sector and are at a loss for how to get in touch in the first place.
Election commissioners are experts in every facet of elections and elections administration, but these digital threats demand new expertise, new partnerships, and new approaches. And it’s all needed now—not in five or ten years. My team—IFES’s Digital Democracy team—exists to tackle problems just like this. I’m proud to have helped launch the Voluntary Election Integrity Guidelines for Technology Companies at the Third Summit for Democracy in Seoul last month. We developed the guidelines in consultation with prominent election authorities, civil society organizations, and technology companies. They’ll provide a much-needed set of shared expectations and practices for companies and election authorities as they work to protect elections in a deteriorating information environment. Since launch, more than 40 election authorities, civil society organizations, and technology companies have signed on to support the guidelines. In the coming months, IFES and our partners will be engaging the technology sector globally, conducting pilot implementations, and working to deepen and expand them. We invite civil society, elections experts, and technology companies globally to get involved." |
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