If you missed the first posts of this series, you’ll find them here:

• Using Technology To Oppose Tyranny: Part 1
• Using Technology To Oppose Tyranny: Part 2

Timothy Snyder’s second lesson is:

Beware The One Party State

This one is especially important for all Americans to pay attention to right now.

Donald Trump made the following statement during a speech on Friday, July 26, 2024, at an event organized by the conservative group Turning Point Action in West Palm Beach, Florida:

“Get out and vote, just this time. You won’t have to do it anymore. Four more years, you know what, it will be fixed, it will be fine, you won’t have to vote anymore, my beautiful Christians.”

He further emphasized this point by saying: “I love you Christians. I’m a Christian. I love you, get out, you gotta get out and vote. In four years, you don’t have to vote again, we’ll have it fixed so good you’re not going to have to vote.”

When later asked to clarify these remarks during a Fox News interview with Laura Ingraham that aired on Monday, July 30, 2024, Trump did not walk back his statement but instead repeated: “I said, vote for me, and you won’t have to do it again. That’s the truth.”

In other words, he was saying that voting won’t matter, because after 250 years, we will no longer live in a democracy.

The United States Constitution begins We The People. It’s a country of the people, by the people, and for the people. Ensuring that voting is free and fair and protected from voter suppression is a fundamental requirement for that to be possible. Those who desire Tyranny will stop at nothing to prevent free and fair voting.

What, if anything, can we do about that threat? How can we use technology to help us avoid tyranny?

14 Technology Solutions to Fight Voter Suppression and Protect Democracy

Here are a few ideas. Not all of these are thing you can do yourself, but you can find others who are already working on these and learn how you can help. Or you can find other ways besides these - this is just a starting point.

Ballot Security and Transparency

1. Ballot Tracking Systems - Implement technology that allows voters to track their mail-in ballots like packages, receiving notifications at each step from printing to tabulation. These systems have shown to increase voter turnout by up to 70% compared to the national average of 50%¹².
2. Open-Source Voting Machines - Develop and deploy voting machines with publicly reviewable code to increase transparency and security while maintaining paper backup ballots³.

Combating Misinformation

Social Media firms are not going to monitor themselves. They make mountains of money by making it easy to spew propaganda, lies, and misinformation. It will be up to others to make technology that can work with social media to find instances of misinformation and voter suppression.

3. AI Detection Tools - Create systems that can identify AI-generated deepfakes and voice cloning used for voter suppression, similar to what was needed after the fake Biden robocall in New Hampshire that discouraged primary participation⁴⁵.
4. Rapid Response Platforms - Develop technology for election officials to quickly identify and counter misinformation about voting procedures, locations, and times⁶.
5. Social Media Monitoring Systems - Deploy tools that track potential voter suppression content across platforms, flagging misleading information about voting procedures for rapid correction⁷.

Improving Voter Access

6. Accessible Registration Apps - Create mobile applications that help people follow whatever steps are required for voter registration, provide accurate information about polling locations, and send reminders about upcoming elections.
7. Disability-Friendly Voting Interfaces - Develop technologies that make voting more accessible for people with various disabilities while maintaining security and privacy.
8. Multilingual Voting Information Systems - Build platforms that automatically provide voting information in multiple languages to ensure all eligible voters can participate regardless of language barriers. According to recent data, approximately 21.6% of the U.S. population (about 66-68 million people) speak a language other than English at home. This represents nearly 1 in 5 individuals in the United States, a significant increase from the 1980s when the proportion was closer to 1 in 10.

Data Analysis for Fair Elections

9. Gerrymandering Detection Algorithms - Use AI and statistical analysis to identify potentially unfair district boundaries and propose more representative alternatives.
10. Voting Pattern Analysis Tools - Create systems that analyze voting patterns to identify potential suppression tactics, allowing for targeted interventions.
11. Campaign Finance Transparency Platforms - Develop tools that visualize the flow of money in politics, highlighting private funding that might unduly influence public elections.

Community Engagement

12. Voter Education Chatbots - Deploy AI assistants that can answer questions about voting procedures, rights, and requirements in real-time.
13. Community Organizing Platforms - Create digital tools that help citizens organize to protect voting rights, monitor elections, and advocate for fair electoral processes.
14. Election Security Tabletop Simulators - Develop software for election officials to run scenarios and prepare for potential disruptions or suppression attempts, as recommended by organizations like NewDEAL⁴.

These technological approaches can help strengthen democratic institutions against attempts to establish one-party control through voter suppression and other anti-democratic tactics.

Some Recent Examples of Voter Suppression

It might seem like there is little real danger of underhanded voter suppression tactics. Unfortunately, they have already been happening, and after the 2024 elections it seems very likely that they will only accelerate and get much worse. Here are only 10 of the significant recent attempts to restrict voting rights from late 2024 and early 2025:

1. Virginia Voter Purge - Governor Youngkin ordered a major voter purge within 90 days of the 2024 presidential election, which the Supreme Court controversially allowed to proceed despite NVRA restrictions⁸.
2. Alabama Voter Roll Removals - Alabama enacted a program to systematically remove registered voters from rolls, which was temporarily blocked by federal court injunction before the November 2024 election⁹.
3. South Carolina Racial Gerrymandering - The Supreme Court overturned a lower court ruling that had found South Carolina’s 1st Congressional District discriminated against Black voters through racial gerrymandering¹⁰.
4. Virginia Felony Disenfranchisement - Virginia implemented one of the nation’s harshest policies, instituting a lifetime voting ban for anyone convicted of a felony, which disproportionately affects Black residents⁸.
5. Texas Election Challenge - A group called United Sovereign Americans filed a lawsuit attempting to purge Texas voter rolls and block certification of 2024 election results¹¹.
6. Louisiana Racial Gerrymandering - The state maintained maps where Black voters only had a majority in one of six congressional districts, despite making up one-third of the state’s population¹².
7. Arizona Citizenship Requirements - The state implemented strict proof of citizenship requirements for voter registration that have prevented eligible citizens from registering due to documentation issues⁸.
8. New Hampshire Citizenship Verification - Similar to Arizona, New Hampshire passed laws requiring proof of citizenship that have created barriers for eligible voters⁸.
9. Alabama Legislative Maps - The NAACP challenged Alabama’s state legislative maps for diluting Black voting power in violation of the Voting Rights Act¹³.
10. South Carolina Congressional Maps - The League of Women Voters challenged the state’s 2022 congressional redistricting plan, which legislators admitted was drawn to ensure a 6-1 Republican majority¹³.