Senate Democrats Run Tabletop Drills to Counter AI-Fueled Election Threats

Senior Senate leaders gathered in Washington DC for a tabletop exercise that modeled AI-generated deepfakes, intimidation of poll workers and other tactics aimed at destabilizing upcoming elections.

Chuck Schumer, Alex Padilla, Adam Schiff, Mark Warner, Elissa Slotkin and Raphael Warnock met in Washington DC to conduct a tabletop simulation of election-interference threats. Legal and forensic experts presented a series of possible attacks, including AI-created deepfake videos alleging widespread fraud, right-wing media amplification, death threats to election workers, and armed individuals appearing at polling sites.

Participants, aided by Protect Democracy, Democracy Forward, election lawyer Marc Elias, former attorney general Eric Holder and expert Norman Eisen, used the scenarios to pinpoint gaps and devise coordinated responses, even considering actions against the Office of Management and Budget and the Federal Communications Commission. The drills respond to Donald Trump’s ongoing false claims about the 2020 election and his advocacy for the Save America Act, which would overhaul voting procedures. Organizers stressed that safeguarding elections will require an all-hands-on-deck strategy rather than a single remedy.