Pennsylvania holds literal roll of the dice for election audits
Pennsylvania's election leaders do this after every election: they audit a random sample of election results, examining them carefully to make sure there are no irregularities.
So, how do they choose the sample? Well, it's almost like a low-tech lottery drawing.
One volunteer after another rolled the dice and the Department of State recorded the dice-roll results, which correspond to which election results will get an extra-close look.
'This is our sixth statewide risk-limiting audit since the 2022 general election,' Secretary of the Commonwealth Al Schmidt said. 'RLAs are proven to be the highest standard of comprehensive election audits because the RLA process provides a statistically sound, scientific method for confirming, with a high degree of confidence, that the reported outcome of the audited election is accurate.'
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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Newsweek
2 days ago
- Newsweek
Bomb Threats, Deep Fakes, and Cyber Threats Target Our Elections. Congress Must Act Now
Advocates for ideas and draws conclusions based on the interpretation of facts and data. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. American democracy runs on a simple promise: your vote matters. But that promise means nothing if foreign adversaries can hack our systems, if bomb threats shut down polling places, or if election workers flee their posts in fear. Right now, the infrastructure that protects this promise is at risk of collapse—threatening not just democracy, but Americans' power to influence everything from our local schools to the economy. Budget negotiations are now underway, and Congress has an opportunity to reverse this dangerous course before it's too late. Voting booths are pictured. Voting booths are frontline experience illustrates exactly what's at stake. The state's Republican Secretary of State Al Schmidt warned of "serious consequences" in a letter to the Department of Homeland Security. In 2024, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA)—the federal agency created to protect our country's critical infrastructure, including election systems—helped Pennsylvania election officials respond to bomb threats on Election Day, quickly debunk a Russian-manufactured fake video targeting Bucks County that claimed to show ballots being destroyed, and coordinate responses when election offices received envelopes containing suspicious white powder. CISA was created through bipartisan legislation and overwhelmingly approved by Congress. The agency serves as the backbone of America's election security infrastructure, providing cybersecurity assessments, threat intelligence briefings, and physical security support. It coordinates critical information sharing between federal, state, and local officials. Last year alone, it conducted over 700 cybersecurity assessments, 1,300 physical security assessments, and provided weekly vulnerability assessments to nearly 1,000 election officials. These networks give local officials real-time threat intelligence and rapid response coordination. This has never been more important. Foreign adversaries including Russia, China, and Iran are conducting increasingly sophisticated cyberattacks against election infrastructure. In Western Pennsylvania, the Iranians hacked the Aliquippa Water Authority. Physical threats are mounting too—from bomb threats and vandalism to suspicious packages targeting election offices. With the 2026 midterm elections approaching, now is the time to prepare. Unfortunately, the opposite is happening. As Schmidt noted, "No state has a national or global perspective on the nature of threats and the capabilities of bad faith actors." Local jurisdictions lack both the funds and expertise to replace federal programs that provide global threat assessments and coordinate responses across thousands of election offices. Yet the Trump administration has systematically gutted this security infrastructure. CISA has been hit by funding cuts from DOGE, the elimination of partnerships with states, mission changes away from countering misinformation, and hostility from Trump himself over the agency's affirmation of 2020 election results. Nearly 1,000 people—one-third of CISA's workforce—have already left the agency. Election security activities remain frozen, and funding for information sharing networks has been terminated. The Election Infrastructure Information Sharing and Analysis Center—which provided free cybersecurity services to cash-strapped communities—has been shuttered entirely. Meanwhile, the president's proposed budget seeks massive cuts to election funding, including an 18 percent cut to CISA's funding and complete elimination of election security grants. There's strong bipartisan precedent for robust federal election security funding. The largest election security investment in recent history—$825 million—happened under President Donald Trump in 2020. Republican and Democratic election officials across the country are now calling for restored support for election security programs. Congress must act immediately. First, Congress needs to restore CISA's election security activities and rebuild the workforce of advisors who serve as critical contacts for local officials during incidents. Second, Congress must appropriate at least $825 million in Help America Vote Act funding, matching the successful 2020 investment. Third, Congress must include a requirement ensuring two-thirds of funds go directly to the local officials who actually run our elections. Pennsylvania faces particular targeting as a key swing state, but every state depends on federal coordination and expertise that only agencies like CISA can provide. States and local communities shouldn't be abandoned and forced to face foreign adversaries and domestic threats alone. Congress has the power to restore the defenses that keep our elections secure. Our democracy has survived for nearly 250 years because each generation defended it when it mattered most. Congressman Chris Deluzio represents Pennsylvania's 17th congressional district. Brian Lemek is the executive director of Defend The Vote Action Fund. The views expressed in this article are the writers' own.

Miami Herald
3 days ago
- Miami Herald
Federal government mandates in-person interviews for overseas H-1B visa renewals
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The department said visa applicants should check embassy and consulate websites for information about visa application requirements and procedures. "An in-person interview with a consular officer overseas remains one of the most important tools for the Department of State to detect fraud, misrepresentation, and other indicators that an applicant is not qualified for the visa class sought," the department said. Thousands of H-1B workers, mostly Indian citizens, work at Silicon Valley technology companies. Visa holders have been reluctant to speak out on the issue, fearing it could jeopardize their status. "We can only anticipate that the wait times at the consulates in India are going to get very, very long," Duehning said. "If they don't get an appointment in time, they could lose their work authorization." Most H-1B holders also can renew visas in the U.S., and Duehning expects the mandatory interview rule will boost the number of H-1B workers applying in this country, likely leading to delays in U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services field offices. "Their field offices are already overwhelmed," Duehning said. Meanwhile, federal hiring freezes and the departures of federal workers in the State Department and Citizenship and Immigration Services mean reduced staffing, even as the Trump administration heightens scrutiny of H-1B applications and renewals, Duehning said. Applications for renewals made overseas, and at field offices, are drawing increased numbers of "requests for evidence" that the applications are valid, Duehning said, similar to what occurred during the first Trump administration. "It will continue to increase the lack of efficiency and consistency that businesses need for their foreign national workforce, and of course, just continues to increase the angst of foreign workers," Duehning said. Controversy over the H-1B visa exploded late last year, as anti-immigrant conservatives faced off against advocates from the tech industry who are close to Trump. The president - who in the past criticized the visa and oversaw a dramatic boost in denial rates during his first term - came out in support of the H-1B. In Silicon Valley, Google, Meta and Apple are among the top users of the visa. Last year, Google received approval for some 5,300 new and continuing H-1Bs, according to federal government data. Meta received nearly 5,000 approvals, Apple close to 4,000, Intel about 2,500 and Oracle more than 2,000. Seattle's Amazon topped the list, with more than 11,000. All told, nearly 80,000 workers were approved last year to work in the U.S. for about 10,000 California companies. Duehning believes the change to the renewal rule arises from an "extreme-vetting" approach to visa workers, intended to root out fraud, combined with a belief by some officials in the Trump administration that the H-1B displaces American workers. The Trump administration recently signaled it may scrap the lottery that awards 85,000 new H-1B visas each year, possibly replacing it with a system tying visas to salaries. While tech firms push to expand the annual cap on new visas, arguing that they use the H-1B to secure the world's top talent, research suggests the visa may push down wages, and staffing and outsourcing firms - which supply many H-1B workers to Silicon Valley tech companies - have been accused of replacing U.S. workers with visa holders. Copyright (C) 2025, Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Portions copyrighted by the respective providers.


Bloomberg
3 days ago
- Bloomberg
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