I have not been one to embrace artificial intelligence (AI)—the term “Luddite” comes to mind. I warned at length about the pending perils of our prospective cyber overseer on this august site, American Greatness, including my dark ruminations about how AI could “eat me.” Admittedly, then, it is difficult for this quantum Cassandra to wax Pollyannaish about AI and its impact upon humanity.
Yet, never let it be said this Debbie Downer can’t find the upside in the impending advent of computer rule. As is usual these days, we find our solace in unusual places: regarding AI, our silver lining lurks in the miasmatic fever swamps of politics.
To the cynics, let me be clear: I am not trying to curry favor with our future AI rulers. I am aiming to ensure the legitimacy of our present mortal officials. Specifically, can AI improve election integrity?
From the earliest to the latter stages of elections, the speed with which AI can aggregate and disseminate data could prove a boon to preventing fraud and error within elections.
If Congress acts and constitutional questions are resolved, AI can help separate citizens from non-citizens in the census and, perhaps, help—within the fullest extent of the law—redraw congressional, state legislative, and local districts based solely on citizen representation.
Regardless of the above, AI can help clean voter rolls by removing deceased individuals and those who have moved; rectify duplicate entries for both intrastate and interstate residents (such as college students); and, of course, purge those ineligible to vote based upon their citizenship status.
Further, with the proper and alacritous accumulation of pertinent data, the speed of AI can facilitate the reconciliation between voter rolls and “mail-in” ballots—both outgoing and incoming—to guard against voter fraud and to detect individuals who vote multiple times or in multiple locations, whether during early voting or on election day.
Many other possibilities abound for discussion, debate, and adoption.
At this point, I must be clear: the potential role of AI in promoting election integrity is not my own novel musing. I only raise the matter to spur the presumed exertions by the Republican National Committee (RNC), National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC), and National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) to devise the legal and technological means by which AI can improve election integrity.
Hopefully, insights into how AI can improve election integrity are being actively pursued (as far as is permissible) from individuals and grassroots organizations that have long been in the vanguard of promoting electoral outreach and election integrity, such as Ned Ryun and American Majority.
Granted, the crush of political exigencies with which they must deal will impact the amount of time and resources these entities can devote to this critical task. Consequently, one hopes the matter is also being explored by populist and/or conservative think tanks, such as the America First Policy Institute and The Heritage Foundation.
While possibilities abound, significant challenges remain in implementation, including the obstinacy of Democrats to facilitating the requisite data collection, specifically, and their broader opposition to the project.
It would be most beneficial, of course, if the Democrats were to collaborate with Republicans to ensure election integrity. This is a remote possibility, with a significant number of Democrats who favor non-citizens voting in American elections. Likely, the Democrats will continue their vehement opposition to any measures to enhance election integrity, which they claim constitutes “voter suppression.”
Given the left’s opposition, it presently falls upon the right to pursue the possibilities. For, sadly, no algorithm known to man or machine can yet bridge the partisan divide over election integrity. (Hey, when it comes to AI, you didn’t expect me to play Pollyanna forever, did you?)
An American Greatness contributor, the Hon. Thaddeus G. McCotter (M.C., Ret.) served Michigan’s 11th Congressional district from 2003-2012, he served as Chair of the Republican House Policy Committee; and as a member of the Financial Services, Joint Economic, Budget, Small Business, and International Relations Committees. Not a lobbyist, he is also a contributor to Chronicles; a frequent public speaker and moderator for public policy seminars; and a co-host of “John Batchelor: Eye on the World” on CBS radio, among sundry media appearances.