This is all many of them claimed after the 2016, with many Democrats spreading the false claim that somehow the Russians had changed votes from Hillary Clinton to President Donald Trump. This of course was nonsense as even Barack Obama pointed out at the time.
It used to be that more of the machines were not connected to the internet and you couldn’t have any appreciable affect on an election because you’d have to be able to get to multiple machines which would not be a simple thing to do. Thus there was a certain level of protection by the decentralized nature of it all.
But because of the the advanced voting systems now being employed and controlled by a few companies about which not much is known including Dominion Voting systems, that isn’t quite true any more.
There ar legitimate concerns being raised about the ability of hackers to affect the machines as states moved to systems that might be connected to the internet and as there were questions about the machines themselves and the companies behind them.
As we reported previously, Democrats including Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) raised questions last year about Dominion and other voting systems including issues such as switching votes for candidates in 2018, the very thing we saw happen in Antrim County, MI in this election which has yet to be fully explained. In another troubling issue, researchers also found “nearly three dozen backend election systems in 10 states.”
As the AP has noted, Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) as raised questions about a “severe underinvestment in cybersecurity” as to the machines and said that the companies had not at that point in 2018 sufficiently answered questions about what they were doing to provide for security.
NBC even raised questions about the Chinese parts used in the machines of Dominion and the other companies.
The source of the nation’s voting machines has become an urgent issue because of real fears that hackers, whether foreign or domestic, might tamper with the mechanics of the voting system.
That has led to calls for ES&S and its competitors, Denver-based Dominion Voting Systems and Austin, Texas-based Hart Intercivic, to reveal details about their ownership and the origins of the parts, some of which come from China, that make up their machines.
NBC also raised questions about hidden or foreign ownership in the companies in addition to the foreign parts. ES&S asserted that they are wholly owned by U.S. citizens or U.S controlled companies but because it’s a private company it’s not required to reveal its ownership. The fact that such companies could have such a control over so vital a part of our election and that hacking, backends or other possible interference might not be foreclosed is concerning.
So why is media reluctant now to follow up on those same issues in the election, with real questions and affidavits of problems being made? What’s changed? We all know what’s changed.
But all these seem like pretty reasonable bipartisan concerns that should be addressed. It isn’t just about this election, it’s about can we be assured that we can have faith in our elections going forward?