The next is a transcript of an interview with David Becker, Middle of Election Innovation and Analysis govt director and CBS contributor, and Chris Krebs, former director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Safety Company and CBS Information cybersecurity knowledgeable and analyst, on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan” that aired on Sept. 15, 2024.
MARGARET BRENNAN: For extra on the upcoming election and the efforts underway to safe the vote, we flip to David Becker. He is a former civil rights legal professional on the Division of Justice who now leads the middle of election innovation and analysis. He is additionally a CBS contributor on election regulation. And Chris Krebs, the previous director of the cybersecurity and infrastructure safety company, now an knowledgeable and analyst right here at CBS Good to have you ever each. David, let me begin with you. We noticed this letter this previous week from Secretaries of State in all fifty states and District of Columbia, issuing concern that we might see voters disenfranchised due to this enhance in mail returned as undeliverable at larger than ordinary charges, even in instances the place a voter is thought to not have moved. And Donald Trump was tweeting about this this morning, you may’t belief the Postal Service. How a lot of an issue is that this going to be for mail in voting?
DAVID BECKER: Nicely, it is a potential drawback. I am listening to this from- from state officers and native officers, after all, there within the States, and we’re seeing mail voting unfold as an possibility across the nation. I believe we’re more likely to see much less mail voting than we did in 2020 as a result of hopefully we can’t have a pandemic to take care of in 2024, however it’s a big drawback, and it actually stresses the significance of voters to make a plan after they’re voting. Nearly each voter in america has an choice to vote early in individual. 97% of all of them in each state aside from Mississippi, Alabama, New Hampshire, 36 states and DC do provide mail voting with out an excuse. But when you are going to vote by mail, get your poll early. Request it early. Be sure you get it after which return it early. If you are going to return it by the mail, that is advantageous. Simply do it very early. There’s additionally choices for drop containers and dropping it off at election workplaces and vote facilities. That is going to be extremely vital for voters to self educate about these choices, simply in case there are issues with the Postal Service.
MARGARET BRENNAN: And it is this coming week, proper the place it is voter registration, voter consciousness what’s it?
DAVID BECKER: So this coming week, on Tuesday, is Nationwide Voter Registration Day–
MARGARET BRENNAN: Registration Day.
DAVID BECKER: There’s nonetheless loads of time to register. As we sit right here right this moment, there’s three weeks left in each state. Some states go for much longer than that, however regardless of the place you’re, in case you’re an eligible voter, you may go to vote.gov That is a fantastic place to start out. Taylor Swift talked about it earlier this week, and it is a fantastic place to start out and get registered. Each eligible voter in america can nonetheless examine their registration and get registered for at the least three weeks.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Put it in your to do record. Chris, I wish to speak about a number of the info setting points that we’re in. It isn’t each face the nation that we start speaking about rumors of cats and canines and geese in Ohio, the rationale we’re doing it’s as a result of the Republican nominee on the talk stage repeated one thing that began as a Fb rumor that obtained amplified that the senator from Ohio says resulted in calls to his workplace this you watch this sort of echo chamber and ecosystem of knowledge, what do you make of a second like this, and the way steadily issues like this get replicated now, like, how does somebody at residence navigate fact after we I went by means of reality examine after reality examine, the police chief, the mayor, the governor, and many times and once more, I used to be advised, Nope, you are improper.
CHRIS KREBS: Yeah, I imply, the actual fact of the matter is social media, whether or not it is Fb, Twitter, X, no matter, it is not the actual world. It isn’t actuality. And so it offers an setting the place specious claims like this may catch fireplace, however they are usually constrained to that platform. What we noticed on Tuesday was the firewall between mainstream and actuality on this extraordinarily on-line ecosystem breakdown, they usually crossed over. And understand that these social media platforms, nicely, Fb has a billion plus customers on a month-to-month foundation. X has a lot, a lot fewer. And so what occurred Tuesday night time was the overwhelming majority of individuals. There have been 57 million, I believe, viewers of the talk, the overwhelming majority of them had by no means heard about this cats and canines being barbecued in Springfield, Ohio, and the, you already know, I anticipated it as a result of, you already know, sadly, David and I’ve to dwell on this world to anticipate what’s coming. And so I had seen it going by means of social media for a pair days, and I absolutely anticipated it to leap, you already know, into the dialog, go mainstream, and growth, there it’s. So to your query, or to your level, how does one form of introduce some form of private resilience right here? And it is precisely doing what you do. Go to mainstream shops and trusted shops and and perform a little little bit of reality examine and verification, and hearken to the general public officers, hearken to Governor DeWine, hearken to the mayor and town supervisor, who’s to know higher than somebody that is really prepared to place their face of their identify to a declare, reasonably than somebody randomly on a social media platform.
MARGARET BRENNAN: And this can change into more and more related as we get to voting and going to voting amenities, not Fb rumors, the elected officers, the individuals who maintain workplace. That is who we as journalists cite. And that is who folks at residence ought to look to.
CHRIS KREBS: Nicely, and to David’s level about vote.gov and having a voting plan, sure, that’s completely important. However while you do come throughout rumors on-line of registration dates altering or voting places or precincts closing, there are methods that you simply as a person voter can go affirm and that tends to go to the native election official or the Secretary of State trusted information 2024 that is the marketing campaign that the Nationwide Affiliation of Secretaries of State and the Nationwide Affiliation of State election administrators have mounted now for 3 election cycles in a row. It is go to the- the authoritative supply in your jurisdiction, which tends to be your secretary of state, your state election director, or your native election officers.
MARGARET BRENNAN: David, within the final election, we noticed a few of these native officers arise in a approach that was it took quite a lot of guts to face as much as federal stress. You noticed that within the state of Georgia, you noticed that within the state of Arizona. You converse to election officers in states round this nation proper now, the place are you seeing that power, and are there areas of concern?
DAVID BECKER: So I am seeing great power from the election officers, even if they have been below stress, stress, abuse and harassment for 4 years now that their work has regularly withstood each little bit of scrutiny that is been utilized, and the truth that since 2020 each election they’ve run has been run very nicely and equally withstood that scrutiny, however they’re nonetheless exhausted this disinformation setting Chris is speaking about, that has actual world impacts on our Neighbors, on our fellow residents who’re working on daily basis to present us all our voice. They’re answering questions which can be don’t have any bearing to actuality on a regular basis, about importing voters, about issues with the voting course of, they usually’re having to navigate these, whereas they’re additionally nonetheless having to plan for an election that’s seemingly going to be very excessive turnout, in all probability much like 2020, even perhaps larger. Individuals are very on this election, however they’re prepared. However the most effective issues we will do is assist them. Is to assist them by, as Chris suggests, listening to the precise info, going to the official sources for actual info, getting info, and making a plan prematurely about how you are going to vote. After which lastly, one of many issues I at all times encourage, when you’ve got any doubts or questions, volunteer to be a ballot employee. You’ll study a lot in regards to the course of. You will discover out how the method and why the method is so safe, what number of redundancies and checks and balances and items of transparency are in place in that course of that can actually assist your election officers out, as a result of then you definitely change into an evangelist for our very efficient election system out locally.
MARGARET BRENNAN: So Chris, we’re seeing extra overseas efforts to meddle on this election. We anticipate within the coming days, federal officers to file expenses associated to that Iranian hack and dump marketing campaign that appears to have been foiled to this point, however try to harm Trump marketing campaign. How rather more of that is coming?
CHRIS KREBS: Nicely, my sense, and primarily based on prior expertise, notably in 2020 the place we noticed the Iranians attempt to meddle in that election, the Russians, the Chinese language going again to 2016 with the Russians, is that they have a tendency to not simply have a single effort or work stream. There’s an overarching technique, a multifaceted, multi prong marketing campaign that they’ve pulled collectively. We definitely know this with the Russians, that there are numerous work streams that they’ve launched in opposition to the US. The Iranians very seemingly have the identical so maybe that is simply the tip of the iceberg, and I’ve mentioned that earlier than. Not all of those actions, these work streams, shall be profitable, or will break by means of. However the hack-and-leak marketing campaign particular to Iran. However the principle level, and what I’m observing out of america authorities, is that they wish to hold fixed stress, constant engagement in opposition to the Russians, in opposition to the Iranians, in opposition to the Chinese language all through the course of this election and afterwards, keep in mind, we now have to run by means of the tape right here, and that tape is inauguration.
MARGARET BRENNAN: David, rapidly, it’s unlawful for a non citizen to vote in a federal election. In some localities, they’ll vote in municipal elections. Donald Trump is speaking about this as an actual concern.
DAVID BECKER: Yeah, and it is not an actual concern. And even Republican states which have regarded into this have discovered extremely small numbers of even potential non-citizens registered. We’ve got discovered nearly zero non-citizens really voting. Georgia did a full audit of its record and located zero non residents voting. That is as a result of the protections in place are very efficient. We- it is unlawful to- to vote as a non-citizen. Concepts required to register to vote, and in case you’re a non-citizen and also you register and also you vote, you’ll go to jail and you can be deported. So it is essential how efficient these these deterrence mechanisms are. This isn’t an issue. You will hear that from Republican and democratic election officers throughout the nation.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Gents. Thanks each.
DAVID BECKER: Thanks Margaret.
MARGARET BRENNAN: We’ll be speaking lots within the coming months. We’ll be proper again.
