ALI SWENSON

National political reporter

Swenson reports on election-related misinformation, disinformation and extremism for The Associated Press.

Racist text messages referencing slavery raise alarms in multiple states and prompt investigations

Racist text messages invoking slavery raised alarm across the country this week after they were sent to Black men, women and students, including middle schoolers, prompting inquiries by the FBI and other agencies.

Trump reverted to familiar playbook, sowing doubts about the voting until results showed him winning

President-elect Donald Trump and his Republican allies spent months seeding doubt in the integrity of American voting systems and priming supporters to expect a 2024 election riddled with massive and inevitable fraud.

Bomb threats in swing states disrupt a mostly smooth Election Day

A series of bomb threats across multiple battleground states and baseless claims of wrongdoing by former President Donald Trump disrupted an otherwise smooth Election Day in a tumultuous presidential election.

Federal agencies say Russia and Iran are ramping up influence campaigns targeting US voters

The nation’s federal law enforcement and election security agencies are debunking two new examples of Russian election disinformation.

FBI links video falsely depicting voter fraud in Georgia to ‘Russian influence actors’

U.S. intelligence officials say a video that purports to show election fraud in Georgia is fake and the work of “Russian influence actors.” determined to undermine faith in the integrity of next week’s presidential election.

US voters hear a stark message in the presidential race: The country’s fate is on the line

Few elections in the nation’s history have provided such a divide as this year’s, with the two major candidates and so many of their supporters saying the outcome will determine the fate of the country and whether it can hold to its democratic moorings.

Ballot drop box fires highlight concerns that election conspiracy theories are making them a target

The suspected arson fires of ballot drop boxes in Oregon and Washington this week is a reminder of how the popular collection devices have been the subject of false conspiracy theories since the 2020 election.

US voters concerned about post-election violence and efforts to overturn the results: AP-NORC poll

A new poll finds that American voters are approaching the presidential election with deep unease about what could follow.

Trump again denigrates Detroit while appealing for votes in a suburb of Michigan’s largest city

Donald Trump has further denigrated Detroit while appealing for votes in a suburb of the largest city in swing state Michigan.

Russian actors made fake video depicting mail-in ballots for Trump being destroyed, FBI says

Russian actors made a widely circulated video falsely depicting mail-in ballots for Donald Trump being destroyed in Pennsylvania.

Efforts by Russia, Iran and China to sway US voters may escalate, new Microsoft report says

A new threat intelligence report from Microsoft says foreign adversaries have showed continued determination to influence the U.S. election and there are signs their activity will intensify as Election Day nears.

Yes, voter fraud happens. But it’s rare and election offices have safeguards to catch it

Voter fraud does happen occasionally. And when it does, we tend to hear a lot about it. Fraud also gets caught, and people are prosecuted.

Cybersecurity head says there’s no chance a foreign adversary can change US election results

The head of the U.S. government’s cybersecurity agency says security for the nation’s election systems has become so robust that Russia, Iran or any other foreign adversary won’t be able to alter the outcome of this year’s presidential race.

Key swing state election faces ‘daunting’ level of uncertainty after storm ravages multiple counties

North Carolina election officials say they will do everything in their power to ensure that voters in the crucial presidential swing state will be able to cast their ballots despite the devastation of Hurricane Helene only about a month before the November election.

Several states are making late changes to election rules, even as voting is set to begin

Across the U.S., including in some of the nation’s presidential swing states, new or recently altered state laws are changing how Americans will vote, tally ballots and administer and certify November’s election.

AI is helping shape the 2024 presidential race. But not in the way experts feared

Generative artificial intelligence is playing a major role in the presidential campaign, even if the greatest fears about how it could threaten the U.S. presidential election haven’t materialized yet.

Russia goes all-out with covert disinformation aimed at Harris, Microsoft report says

A new Microsoft threat intelligence report details how Russia-linked actors are now going full throttle in their covert influence efforts against Vice President Kamala Harris.

Elon Musk has often inflamed politically tense moments, raising worries for the US election

As Election Day draws nearer, social media posts by X owner Elon Musk are raising concerns that he will use his immense platform to question the legitimacy of the vote in the U.S. presidential election and perhaps call for resistance if Republican nominee Donald Trump loses.

Most Americans don’t trust AI-powered election information: AP-NORC/USAFacts survey

A survey from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research and USAFacts finds that a majority of Americans don’t trust generative artificial intelligence models to give them accurate answers.

Election officials ask for more federal money but say voting is secure in their states

Top election officials from two presidential swing states are pleading for more federal money even as they say they’re confident in their preparations for November’s vote.

Right-wing influencers were duped to work for covert Russian operation, US says

New U.S. charges allege that a media company linked to six conservative influencers was a front for a Russian influence operation.

Moms for Liberty fully embraces Trump and widens role in national politics as election nears

This weekend’s gathering of Moms for Liberty has showcased how the group has moved toward fully embracing Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and his political messaging as November’s election draws closer.

Trump questions acceptance of transgender people as he courts his base at Moms for Liberty gathering

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump is lamenting the growing acceptance of transgender Americans.

Harris isn’t backing away from Biden’s democracy focus. But she’s putting her own spin on it

Before dropping his bid for reelection, President Joe Biden framed voters’ choice in November in dark and ominous terms, painting Republican nominee Donald Trump as a menace to American democracy and questioning whether the country could survive if he won.

RFK Jr will speak Friday, fueling speculation he could drop out and support Trump

Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will speak Friday “about the present historical moment and his path forward.”

Trump’s post of fake Taylor Swift endorsement is his latest embrace of AI-generated images

Former President Donald Trump has been active on his social accounts as Democrats gather for their convention in Chicago, but many of his posts don’t have much to do with reality.

What to watch on the Democratic National Convention’s second day in Chicago

Democrats say they will lay out the 2024 election as “a choice between two very different visions of America” on the Democratic National Convention’s second night.

Democrats approve a platform that mentions Biden’s ‘second term’ despite his making way for Harris

Delegates at the Democratic National Convention have approved the 2024 party platform. The largely ceremonial vote Monday evening at Chicago’s convention signaled the party coalescing around a vision for the next four years — even if it’s a somewhat outdated one, as the document still wrongly names

Florida election officials warn of false rumor about ballot markings days before the state’s primary

An unfounded claim that election workers will invalidate ballots by writing on them is prompting election clerks in Florida to correct the record ahead of next week’s state primary.

Google confirms an Iranian group is trying to access emails linked to both US presidential campaigns

Google says an Iranian group linked to the country’s Revolutionary Guard has tried to infiltrate the personal email accounts of roughly a dozen people linked to President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump since May.