An exclusive, nationwide survey sent to more than 3,000 election administrators in all 50 states finds they consider misinformation to be the greatest challenge to future U.S. elections and American democracy.The broad, 35-question inquiry was sent by the Hearst Television National Investigative Unit in late December, shortly after all states certified their electoral ballots in the U.S. presidential election, and concluded Jan. 15, five days before the inauguration of President Joseph R. Biden. The "Grading the Election" survey asked local and state election administrators – from town and parish clerks to county auditors and secretaries of state – for in-depth insights on election security, pandemic-related changes, funding, absentee ballots and postal issues, relations with state legislators and federal agencies and suggestions for permanent reforms. The number of survey responses varied by question and not all respondents completed all questions. The results are being released on the eve of Tuesday’s start of the annual winter conferences of the National Association of Secretaries of State and the National Association of State Election Directors, the largest gatherings of the nation’s top election leaders since the general election concluded. The conferences, being held virtually this month due to the ongoing pandemic, allow administrators to compare notes, adopt policy positions, and recommend legislative changes that can affect how people vote in subsequent elections. Read results of Hearst Television National Investigative Unit "Grading the Election" survey sent to more than 3,000 election administrators nationwide.‘Set the Record Straight’ Paddy McGuire, the auditor for picturesque Mason County, Wash., on the western edge of Puget Sound, wrote in his survey response that he had to combat a flood of incoming falsehoods with dry, hard facts. He started a bi-weekly column in the local paper in 2020 to knock down misinformation in the community and make clear the stakes for voters in the small county. In his penultimate column before Election Day, he wrote, "The people that benefit from the misinformation and the outrage that follows are in Beijing, Moscow and Tehran." His office applied for a $33,000 grant from the Center for Tech and Civil Life and used it to create and mail every voter an eight-page guide; the headline on page 3 reads: "Ensuring the Integrity of Elections." “We wanted to set the record straight and let folks know that they could rely upon us for the truth,” McGuire said in a recent interview from his office in Shelton. Misinformation first responders Being a misinformation first responder was just the latest job election leaders nationwide had to add to an overflowing, pandemic-laden workload last year, according to the survey. 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An overwhelming 76% of respondents said they had to take steps to counter misinformation or disinformation about the election in their communities. In follow-up interviews, the National Investigative Unit found that sentiment expressed by ground-level election workers in small communities to the top election officials in more than two dozen states. “Absolutely. I'm one of the 76% in that survey — and our hand was forced,” said Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon. "Oh, absolutely, pretty much all day, every day,” replied Michael Adams, Kentucky Secretary of State. "It was a daily effort,” agreed Kim Wyman, Washington Secretary of State. Maggie Toulouse Oliver, secretary of state in New Mexico and the current president of the National Association of Secretaries of State said, "Yeah, we sure did” need to fight disinformation. One of her predecessors leading the NASS organization, Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate, said, “Oh, most certainly." Among the 25 top state election leaders from both parties interviewed for this story, nearly all of them agreed countering misinformation and disinformation will be the top challenge going forward – and will be a key topic of discussion at this week’s election conferences.The very first bill introduced this year in the U.S. House of Representatives, H.R. 1, sponsored by Democratic lawmakers, would, in part, ban certain false statements within 60 days of an election. The bill’s future is highly uncertain, particularly in the evenly-divided Senate. ‘Destroying voters’ confidence’ “That disinformation campaign was very effective in destroying voters’ confidence,” concluded Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, who oversaw three recounts in the presidential race in his state and came under direct pressure from former President Donald Trump to “find” the more than 11,000 votes the former president would have needed to prevail in the state. "We see it as a threat to the security of our elections,” said Joyce Benson, Michigan Secretary of State. Shemia Fagan, Oregon’s Secretary of State, concurred, calling disinformation “the number one threat." "It's going to be a permanent requirement for our elections, sadly,” to actively counter misinformation, lamented Denise Merrill, Connecticut Secretary of the State. Pennsylvania Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar declared in an interview, "Enough with the lies." Virginia’s Commissioner of Election, Chris Piper, felt optimistic that “we're up to the challenge.” No widespread fraud Since 2018, the National Investigative Unit has covered the semi-annual gatherings of top election leaders as they fought foreign interference and cyber security threats, then a pandemic and, now, disinformation. When they meet again this week, top election leaders said they’re prepared to, yet again, debunk false claims about the election, including that President Trump actually won instead of losing to President Biden by more than seven million votes nationwide and by a decisive margin in the Electoral College. Every official who oversees the administration of elections in their states and who was interviewed for this story said they found no widespread fraud that would have changed the results. Administrators needed private funds 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Nearly half of the administrators who responded to the survey said they had to rely on private grants or funding to run the election in these cash-strapped, pandemic times. One in eight administrators said a poll worker or election staffer was diagnosed with COVID-19 after working on Election Day. And half of election administrators said they do want pandemic-related, emergency election measures to be made permanent. But many don’t feel optimistic their recommendations – on post-coronavirus changes or much of anything else – will be adopted. 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Four in 10 did not feel their state legislature listens to them and respects their suggestions on election reform. “It absolutely is a problem in Michigan,” said Benson, the secretary of state there. In Arizona, another state that saw significant pressure from Trump-aligned supporters to overturn legitimate results, Secretary of State Katie Hobbs said, “a lot of these legislators that make our election laws are the ones propagating all of the misinformation." In Missouri, a diplomatic-sounding Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft said, "We work together even though we don't always agree on everything." No time to wait In Mason County, Wash., Paddy McGuire's team doesn't have time to wait for broader reforms or the disinformation cavalry to arrive. The next election he's running is just days away – Feb. 9. “It's a never-ending process,” McGuire said. “And we just we just want to show people that the work that we're doing is honest and fair and nonpartisan.” Mark Albert is the chief national investigative correspondent for the Hearst Television National Investigative Unit, based in Washington D.C. April Chunko and Amanda Rooker contributed to this report. Know of waste, fraud, abuse or a safety risk that needs to be investigated? Send information and documents confidentially to the National Investigative Unit at investigate@hearst.com. You have the option to remain anonymous. HEARST TELEVISION NATIONAL INVESTIGATIVE UNIT ELECTION SECURITY SERIES: -Pt 1: Gaps in Preparedness -Pt 2: White House Response -Pt 3: Voting Vulnerabilities                >San Francisco Chronicle (print) version >DIGITAL EXTRA: Kid Hackers-Pt 4: Cyber Combat-Pt 5: Election Security Summit (Day 1; Day 2)-Pt. 6: Troll Hunters -SPECIAL: Election Security 30-minute Special -Pt. 7: Paper Ballots-Pt. 8: Lack of Funds-Pt. 9: Operation Blackout -Pt. 10: Digital Disinformation-Pt. 11: Voting App Hack-Pt. 12: Deleting the Deception-Pt. 13: Spotting the Spin-Pt. 14: 2020 Election Summit-Pt. 15: Election Exposure-Pt. 16: Election Exposure Checkup-Pt. 17: Return to Sender-Pt. 18: Inside the Intelligence-Pt. 19: Grading the Election