As Americans bet on elections, L.A. officials weigh how to safeguard voters

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Set us as preferred Los Angeles County election officials are examining steps ahead of the November midterms to respond to the rising popularity of election trading via prediction markets, including a possible ban on wagering for county election workers.The discussions follow a fracas during the June ballot count, when a handful of influencers suggested fraud could be occurring in L.A.’s mayoral primary because the results began diverging from the market’s prediction.That incident, the most prominent interaction of prediction markets and a U.S.

election to date, revealed a new dynamic in the battle for public trust in elections.Now, election administrators around the country are considering the possible implications of the markets’ forecasts, including whether they have the power to affect voter confidence in election results.“We’re … trying to find our way in this,” L.A.

County Registrar-Recorder Dean Logan said in an interview.“It’s opened up a lot of questions that we’re grappling with.”Three months before the midterms, with much of the American public concerned about democracy and trust in elections dropping, officials are paying attention to anything that could create further uncertainty around how elections are run.

The midterm contests are high stakes for both parties, which are battling for control of Congress amid a difficult economy, the war in Iran and low approval ratings for President Trump.And many Americans are wagering on what might happen — users have traded nearly $200 million on the midterm elections so far, a July analysis by NBC News found.

Prediction market platforms and their proponents say trading contracts on the markets is not the same as betting, likening it instead to trading on the stock market.Critics say it amounts to gambling, regardless of how the markets are set u...