Media question election integrity ahead of Republican landslide

Mainstream media outlets are already questioning the integrity of Tuesday’s midterm elections, which are expected to result in a Republican landslide, saying the voting machines might be rigged or hacked. 

“The 2020 presidential election was rife with allegations of voting machine hacks that were later debunked,” tweeted Politico Monday. “Yet there are real risks that hackers could tunnel into voting equipment and other election infrastructure to try to undermine Tuesday’s vote.” The mainstream news site also included a link to an article titled, “6 election security threats to watch for on Election Day.” 

In the article, Politico claims that while the 2020 election was sound, the 2016 election was rife with “foreign interference,” which is why the federal government has been working hard to “promote trusted sources of information.” 

“The federal government has worked since 2016 to improve coordination with state and local officials on everything from fixing digital vulnerabilities to promoting trusted sources of information. Biden administration officials say that’s one reason that they’ve seen less foreign interference than in 2016.” 

But Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) Director Jen Easterly, who has been colluding with tech companies to censor unapproved speech, says “The current election threat environment is more complex than it has ever been.” 

Some of the “security threats” Politico warns about is “mis- and dis-information,” a term widely used to refer to views contrary to the Biden administration’s messaging. 

Another possible threat listed in the article is targeted voter harassment, which Politico claims also happened in 2016 when Iran, despite being the target of Trump’s hostility, intimidated voters to vote for Trump. 

But Politico is not the only media outlet setting the stage for election denial in the event of a Republican victory. 

Last week, the Washington Post published a report titled, “Inside the secretive effort by Trump allies to access voting machines.” 

As early as June, the Associated Press reported that according to a memo from the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency (CISA) which has yet to be released, the agency has identified “software vulnerabilities” in voting machines in at least 16 states.  

The same day, Politico published an article warning that Republicans are planning to infiltrate voting booths, install covert operatives disguised as poll workers and set up fake hotlines.  

“The plan, as outlined by a Republican National Committee staffer in Michigan, includes utilizing rules designed to provide political balance among poll workers to install party-trained volunteers prepared to challenge voters at Democratic-majority polling places, developing a website to connect those workers to local lawyers and establishing a network of party-friendly district attorneys who could intervene to block vote counts at certain precincts,” said the article.