Politico believes that the 2020 election was completely legitimate and unaffected by voter fraud, but now warns “hackers” may compromise the integrity of the 2022 midterms.
In an article about “security threats” to the November midterm elections, Politico insists that “allegations” that “voting machine hacks” occurred during the 2020 election were “debunked.”
However, they now claim that there are “real risks that hackers could tunnel into voting equipment and other election infrastructure to try to undermine Tuesday’s vote.”
The 2020 presidential election was rife with allegations of voting machine hacks that were later debunked.
Yet there are real risks that hackers could tunnel into voting equipment and other election infrastructure to try to undermine Tuesday’s vote.https://t.co/kDij1J08eU
— POLITICO (@politico) November 7, 2022
“The U.S. officials charged with protecting election security say they’re watching for threats from multiple groups and countries. And in recent months, social media companies and cybersecurity researchers have identified Chinese influence operations aimed at the elections,” the outlet claims.
Along with “misinformation,” election officials are reportedly concerned about nefarious actors “crashing” election offices and campaign websites through DDoS attacks.
They also claim that “Hackers could take over candidates’ or campaigns’ social media accounts on Election Day” to write obscene things, they claim. “These impersonation schemes could fuel distrust of the election process and knock campaigns off balance in the home stretch of the contest.”
Politico also claims that cyberattacks could target voter registration databases and “sow doubt” by “tampering with voter data,” thus making “it more difficult or time-consuming for poll workers to check in voters at polling places.”
“And by stealing voter data, hackers could engage in targeted harassment,” Politico adds.
Phil Roeder / Flickr / Edited
Shockingly, the outlet admits that voting machines and vote tallies could be “corrupted.”
“At least seven states and Washington, D.C., use wireless modems to transmit unofficial election-night results to their central offices,” the writers claim. “These modems use telecommunications networks that are vulnerable to hackers, and malicious actors could exploit them to tamper with unofficial vote data, corrupt voting machines or compromise the computers used to tally official results.”
Apparently these severe weaknesses were not exploited in 2020, the writers would have us believe.
Still, this dire threat “could fuel doubts about results, especially if the hackers bragged about their accomplishments.” The writers warn, “And if subsequent audits that correct digital tampering dramatically change vote tallies, bad-faith actors might seize on those changes to falsely allege fraud.”
Conservatives have predictable pounced on the wild article from a website widely regarded as partisan.
“Wait wait,” wrote Harmeet K. Dhillon, a successful conservative lawyer. “I was told claims of hacking voting machines were fake news per se? Please fact check plz!”
Wait wait … I was told claims of hacking voting machines were fake news per se? Fact check Plz! 👇🏼😱 https://t.co/bOkIPnfq6q
— Harmeet K. Dhillon (@pnjaban) November 7, 2022
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene summarized, “In other words, stolen elections only happen when Democrats lose.”
“Are riots with looting and burning businesses & cities coming back too?” She asked, rhetorically, “How does that get organized and funded exactly?”
In other words, stolen elections only happen when Democrats lose.
Oh, ok.👍
Are riots with looting and burning businesses & cities coming back too?
How does that get organized and funded exactly? https://t.co/uBYUcVKMkr
— Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene🇺🇸 (@RepMTG) November 7, 2022
