Tag Archive for: voters

Ron DeSantis either misunderstands Social Security or thinks voters do


In the third Republican presidential debate, Ron DeSantis said he would force Congress to stop borrowing money from Social Security. Hopefully, he has been badly briefed about Social Security finances by his staff.

If DeSantis actually understands Social Security financing, then his remark would have to be interpreted as a cynical attempt to take advantage of the fact that many voters don’t understand it. This misunderstanding is reflected in claims that Congress has stolen the money in the Social Security Trust Fund, which at the beginning of 2023 contained $2.83 trillion.

Paul F. deLespinassePaul F. deLespinasse

Paul F. deLespinasse

Nobody has stolen a dime from the Trust Fund. Instead, the U.S. Treasury, as authorized by Congress, has borrowed the money, paying the usual rate of interest paid to anybody else who buys treasury notes and bonds. So the money in the Trust Fund is in the form of U.S. bonds, not cash, stock, or other assets.

The money in the Trust Fund has come from several sources. Most was collected from employers and workers through the employment tax (FICA), which for several decades was more than the annual outgo to retirees and other Social Security beneficiaries. During this time, when the U.S. population was much younger, the surplus was used to build up the Trust Fund.

Some of it comes from income tax on Social Security benefits paid by Americans whose total income exceeds a certain amount fixed by law. The rest comes from the interest the Treasury pays for the money it has borrowed from the Trust Fund.

For a few years now the annual income into the Social Security Trust Fund has been less than the money needed to pay Social Security benefits. To make up the difference, the Trust Fund sells enough bonds back to the Treasury to provide the needed cash. Actuaries estimate that the Trust Fund will run completely out of bonds it can cash about 10 years from now.

This does not mean that Social Security beneficiaries will lose all their benefits. But It does mean that current income from FICA, if that tax is not increased, would only allow paying beneficiaries about three-fourths of their full benefits. Of course this decrease would hit retired people who have no other income very hard, in some cases even…

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Top election leaders worry ‘terrifying’ AI will dupe voters


Top election leaders worry ‘terrifying’ AI will dupe voters

Semi-annual gathering of election leaders focuses on use of generative artificial intelligence, growing withdrawals from key election fraud prevention alliance

The potential use of content-generating artificial intelligence and deepfake videos to sway or dupe voters is a growing concern of secretaries of state across the country, according to interviews with a dozen and a half top election leaders at their semi-annual gathering held this week in the nation’s capital. “This is the number one issue that we’re talking about behind the scenes at this conference,” said Kentucky Secretary of State Michael Adams. “It’s a big concern,” echoed David Scanlan, secretary of state in New Hampshire. Scott Schwab, the secretary of state in Kansas and newly-installed president of the National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS), said the challenge of AI in campaigns and elections is “very real, very fast.”Nebraska Secretary of State Robert Evnen warned, “It can also be very damaging and destructive.”Legislation focuses on deepfakesPhil McGrane, who oversees Idaho elections as secretary of state, said he recently tried out a generative AI tool – and quickly discovered its fallibility. “I had it write a bio of me, and it provided information that was written very persuasively but was, in fact, inaccurate.”A few states are starting to take legislative action. In Washington, Steve Hobbs, the secretary of state, said he helped introduce legislation, signed into law in May by Gov. Jay Inslee, that “goes after the deepfakes” by requiring disclosure of manipulated videos in political ads. Such AI-distorted videos make it appear a speaker said something that, in reality, they did not. “We have to get ahead of this threat,” Hobbs said.WATCH FULL INTERVIEWS WITH TOP STATE ELECTION LEADERS AT THE END OF THIS STORY.“I think that it’s just going to…

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Redistricting and security: Major changes in the primary for voters


CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Before this primary election- West Virginia was one of only two states in the nation, along with New Hampshire, that had multimember districts. For the 2022 May primary voters will notice the change from 67 districts to 100 single-member districts, according to Secretary of State Mac Warner.

Mac Warner

“In the past we’ve had multi-member districts and the law was passed a couple of years ago and is going into effect this election for the first time. So that is one thing the clerks have been working very hard is to get those districts properly lined out,” Warner said.

Voters who were placed in an updated district/precinct should have received a postcard with updated voter information. Warner urges voters with questions to go to GoVoteWV.com to confirm your registration and polling location.

Experts said the change to single-member districts serve voters better because they’re smaller putting representatives are closer to constituents, voters have to learn about fewer candidates and candidates are required to make a connection with voters rather then blending in on the ballot.

One less congressional district

The next big change is West Virginia lost a congressional district following the 2020 United States Census. When the two districts combined to make the newly formed Second Congressional District it pits two incumbents- David McKinley and Alex Mooney- against each other for the primary along with several other Republican challengers.

Research America’s Rex Repass said polls show McKinley could be the incumbent squeezed out.

“Alex Mooney has a strong 15-point lead over David McKinley among likely Republican and Independent voters in the newly created Second Congressional District,” Repass said.

Also battling for the Republican nomination in the newly-formed Second Congressional District is Mike Seckman, Rhonda Hercules and Susan Bucsher-Lochocki.

On the Democrat side of the newly formed Second Congressional District ticket is former Morgantown city councilman Barry Wendel and Angela Dwyer, a security operations manager.

In the First District, incumbent Republican Carol Miller faces challengers Scott Fuller, James Houser, Zane Lawhorn and Kent Stevens. On…

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Election security experts: Pa. GOP trying to play ‘Russian roulette’ with voters’ personal info




  • Katie Meyer/WHYY

As Pennsylvania Republicans have taken steps toward an unprecedented review of the 2020 presidential election and 2021 primary, election and data security experts say their methods — and the clear partisan motivation behind them — are concerning.

A little-used Senate committee controlled by Republicans voted this week to issue a subpoena ordering Pennsylvania’s Department of State to deliver a long list of voter data and other records.

It includes a mix of publicly available and private information: specifically, all registered Pennsylvania voters’ names, dates of birth, and addresses, as well as the last four digits of their social security numbers, driver’s license numbers, and dates of their last voting activity.

They also want all communication records between the Pennsylvania DOS and county officials between May 2020 and 2021, all the directions, policies, and guidance the state had in place related to elections and voting between August 2020 and June 2021, and all election worker training materials used between August 2020 and May 2021.

Most of that information is already available to the public. State communication records are…

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