2020 Election Day: Rebuilding American Voters’ Confidence Through Technology

59% of Americans are not confident in the honesty of the U.S. elections. To address this, the tech industry is dialing up its efforts to combat election interference and misinformation and win American voter’s trust. 

In this pandemic era, the 2020 U.S. presidential elections will be challenging and rare. With the election just 42 days away, digital platforms and Bay Area tech giants are working hard to gain public confidence in the integrity of the election system.

This year, due to the outbreak of COVID-19, American voters can cast their vote both by mail and in person. However, President Donald Trump has claimed the mail-in voting is inaccurate and corrupt. On September 3, 2020, he even encouraged North Carolina voters to test the integrity of mail-in voting systems by voting twice, once by mail, and once in person. But voting twice in an election is illegal. 

Based on the massive number of Unsolicited & Solicited Ballots that will be sent to potential Voters for the upcoming 2020 Election, & in order for you to MAKE SURE YOUR VOTE COUNTS & IS COUNTED, SIGN & MAIL IN your Ballot as EARLY as possible. On Election Day, or Early Voting,..

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 3, 2020Opens a new window

According to the Brookings reportOpens a new window , there are low chances of mail-in voting fraud. Supporting this, Benjamin Ginsberg, political scientist, and professor at Johns Hopkins University wroteOpens a new window in The Washington Post, “The truth is that after decades of looking for illegal voting, there’s no proof of widespread fraud. At most, there are isolated incidents — by both Democrats and Republicans. Elections are not rigged.”

Along with this, there are various other instances of misinformation and mistrust that can easily provoke disputes or create confusion amongst the American voters. According to the Pew Research Center, 75% of AmericansOpens a new window say it is likely that Russia or other foreign governments will attempt to influence the November 2020 election. Another surveyOpens a new window highlighted that 59% of Americans are not confident in the honesty of U.S. elections. 

Tech News: 2020 Election Day: Social Media Platforms Gear up Ahead of the U.S. Presidential Election

How Are Tech Companies Rebuilding the Trust of American Voters? 

On August 13, 2020, nine tech companies — Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Twitter, Pinterest, Reddit, Verizon, LinkedIn, and Wikimedia —  signed a joint statement with government agencies to ramp up the 2020 elections security efforts to combat misinformation and win American voters’ confidence. On the same day, Facebook and Instagram rolled out a voting information centerOpens a new window to combat election misinformation and encourage eligible voters to vote.

On September 3, 2020, Facebook announced new policies to block new political ads a week before the elections and a plan to label candidate posts if they declared victory before the official results. Moreover, on September 10, 2020, Twitter expanded its Civic Integrity Policy Opens a new window to protect American voters from harmful misinformation by labeling or removing false or misleading information from its platform.

Much recently, on September 15, 2020, Twitter debuted the 2020 U.S. election hub for voters to find accurate information about the upcoming 2020 U.S. elections. The hub will appear at the top of the explore tab for U.S. users in both English and Spanish. The social media company also introduced a series of voter education public service announcements (PSAs) to provide voters with factual information about the election. 

We’re launching a US election hub to make it easier to find accurate information and resources about the 2020 election.

Starting today, if you’re in the US, you’ll see the hub at the top of your Explore tab. 🔍 pic.twitter.com/OhzKOTPPj5Opens a new window

— TwitterGov (@TwitterGov) September 15, 2020Opens a new window

In a recent blog post, Bridget Coyne, public policy director at Twitter, and Sam Toizer, senior product manager at Twitter, wroteOpens a new window , “Twitter wants to empower every eligible person to vote in the 2020 U.S. election, and we’re focused on helping people register, better understand the voting process during COVID-19 including early voting options, and feel informed about the choices on their ballot. While nine in ten daily Twitter users say they plan to vote in the upcoming U.S. elections, over half say they still need more information about the candidates on their ballot and how to vote in 2020.” 

On July 15, 2020, Twitter suffered the most consequential security breaches in its history, when 17-year old Graham Ivan Clark hacked 130 Twitter account users, including Barack Obama, Joe Biden, Jeff Bezos, and Elon Musk. To avoid this catastrophic cyberattack during the elections, Twitter announced new steps to increase account security for designated U.S. elections-related account users, including U.S. Executive Branch and Congress, U.S. Governors and Secretaries of State, presidential campaigns, political parties, candidates, U.S. news outlets, and political journalists on September 17, 2020. The designated account users with weaker passwords will need to update a stronger password. Also, the company will enable password reset protection and two-factor authentication (2FA). 

In a blog post, Twitter saidOpens a new window , “We’re focused on keeping high-profile accounts on Twitter safe and secure during the 2020 U.S. election. We’re taking the additional step of proactively implementing account security measures for a designated group of high-profile, election-related Twitter accounts in the U.S.”

Tech News: Gen Z Lacks Trust in Tech Companies, Finds FleishmanHillard Report

Last week, Snapchat rolled out a slew of voting tools and features to encourage the younger generation to vote. According to Axios’ reportOpens a new window , more than 400,000 people have registered to vote on Snapchat. On September 15, 2020, the company released a new PSA with former president Obama to encourage the younger generation to register to vote on the app. 

Starting today: a message from @BarackObamaOpens a new window will be featured on @SnapchatOpens a new window encouraging first-time and young voters to get registered and make a plan to vote early, either in person or by mail: via @AdweekOpens a new window pic.twitter.com/8iOSCyT3zQOpens a new window

— Eric Schultz (@EricSchultz) September 15, 2020Opens a new window

In the coming weeks, Snapchat will launch high profile PSAs by Arnold Schwarzenegger, Snoop Dogg, Catherine McBroom, and Quincy Brown. The company also plans to partner with BallotReady to launch Before You Vote mini, to help users know how and where to vote in person and by mail.

Compared to the 2016 presidential elections, the tech industry has been more vigilant for the upcoming 2020 elections. Most tech companies are continuously rolling out new features and products to combat misinformation and encourage eligible voters to vote. Now, it’s time for eligible Americans to be #VoteReady. With National Voter Registration Day (September 22, 2020) round the corner, eligible voters can register in person or online and make their vote count. 

Are you satisfied with the measures tech companies are taking to combat election misinformation? Comment below or let us know on LinkedInOpens a new window , TwitterOpens a new window , or FacebookOpens a new window . We’d love to hear from you!