Government/BigTech Censorship Can Continue

The 5th Circuit Court Delays Injunction plus US ACE Act and Ohio and Virginia Updates

Last week, I wrote about the ruling by a US District Court that put a hold on Government and BigTech collaboration on social media censorship. On Friday, the 5th Circuit Court granted a stay on that order meaning former operations can continue until the matter is resolved in court.

This is germane for elections because one of the government entities identified in the lawsuit is CISA (Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency). CISA plays a critical role in the conduct of US elections and its former Director made the (in)famous statement that the 2020 election was the most secure in the nation’s history. The lawsuit claims that social media posts conflicting with official narratives have been wrongfully targeted and censored at the behest of government agencies. MSN story here and Epoch Times (paywall) here.

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US House Bills on Elections Advance - More chatter on election issues is expected over the next few weeks as related legislation hits the House floor. Key among them will be the ACE Act. While it mostly applies to the District of Columbia, where Congress has oversight, another goal is to provide model legislation that States may adopt. You can read a summary here. It may all be for naught as the Senate will likely kill the bill even if it does manage to pass the House.

Ohio Launches Election Data Transparency Office - The new office declared itself ‘the first-ever substantive effort by any state to adopt a clear and consistent method for retaining election data’. The effort will not only preserve election data but provide more public access to reports following an election as well as comparative analysis over time. Story here

Virginia Governor Youngkin Pushes Early/Absentee Voting - It is a significant point of debate within the GOP, whether the party should try to compete with the Democrats in ballot harvesting and early voting efforts or continue to encourage election day, in-person voting. Story here