DOUGLAS COUNTY, Colo. — Colorado county clerk and recorders gathered in Douglas County Thursday morning to debunk voter misinformation myths and provide transparency on the election process.
The clerks said that since the 2020 election, they’ve seen an uptick in misinformation regarding the election. They argue that the best way to dispel the myths is to provide transparency.
“Unfortunately that’s what we’re living with right now,” said Boulder County Clerk & Recorder Molly Fitzpatrick. “People are being manipulated by bad actors and by technology that’s perpetuating this problem of mis and disinformation.”
Fitzpatrick said the most common piece of misinformation they face are accusations of ballot harvesting, the collection of ballots by a third party which are then changed to a particular candidate. She also noted that election officials are on the lookout for false election narratives spread by artificial intelligence (AI), deepfake technology, used to alter videos.
“It’s actually bizarre,” said Fitzpatrick. “Now we’re having to also deal with this technology that is spreading misinformation quicker than a human can.”