Comment Text:
Please reject the KalshiEX proposed event contracts with respect to political control of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives. Allowing betting of any amount, on the outcomes of elections is clearly harmful to the public interest.
Over 2.5 years after the 2020 elections, millions of people in the US continue to believe the lie that Trump won the election. The actors that continue to push these lies have access to abundant financial resources. Therefore, raising the minimums on betting does not mitigate the dangers of KalshiEX's event contracts. Although the KalshiEX's proposal does not involve betting on the outcome of presidential elections, allowing betting on the outcome of Congressional elections is just as harmful. Among the promoters of Trump's lies about the 2020 election and of general mistrust of the integrity of elections, are many current members of Congress and candidates for Congress during the 2022 election.
The promotion of conspiracy theories and other misinformation about election integrity made the 2022 election cycle extremely dangerous for election officials, leading to record numbers of resignations of election workers because of threats to their personal safety. Allowing betting on elections would incentivize more conspiracy theories that exacerbate the dangers to election officials and create greater strain on resources to hold secure elections. Additionally, the growing availability of artificial intelligence adds fuel to the fire: gaming on elections would incentivize the use AI to create false or misleading content to influence popular opinion and maximize winnings.
Elections are not casino games. Their outcome affect the personal life of every resident, not just for a single term, but perhaps decades. Please do not jeopardize the foundation of democracy by allowing markets to treat elections as a gambling opportunity.
