As the next presidential election draws nearer, we have every reason to believe that our foes will ramp up their efforts to covertly influence American voters.
Alex Knopp (opinion): Will CT become a front in the disinformation war waged by foreign actors?
05.1.2024
This opinion was originally published in the CT Insider on May 1, 2024. To read the full piece, click here.
For years now, the federal Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency has warned top state election and cybersecurity officials about threats posed by Russia and other foreign adversaries ahead of the 2024 elections. We know that Russia, Iran, and China have meddled in previous elections, targeting specific audiences and sowing disinformation online in an attempt to undermine confidence in our democratic institutions.
Will Connecticut become one of the next fronts in the disinformation war being waged by America’s foreign adversaries?
As it stands today, Connecticut’s campaign finance law contains a vulnerable loophole that allows foreign individuals and entities to spend foreign funds without limit to influence the outcome of our state and local ballot referenda. Our state’s current law limits a political committee formed solely to aid or promote the success or defeat of a referendum question from receiving contributions from a national committee or from a committee of a candidate for federal or out-of-state office but this provision is totally silent on funds from foreign sources.
Continued here.
Alex Knopp served as mayor and state representative from Norwalk and taught the Legislative Advocacy Clinic at Yale Law School. He is on the Board of Directors of Common Cause in Connecticut.