How to Hack an Election (Without Touching the Machines)
On Monday morning, just 24 hours before polls opened in the US midterm elections, President Trump sounded an alarm with a Tweet: “Law Enforcement has been strongly notified to watch closely for any ILLEGAL VOTING which may take place in Tuesday’s Election (or Early Voting). Anyone caught will be subject to the Maximum Criminal Penalty allowed by law. Thank you!”
The rumor was part of a pair; over the weekend, Trump tweeted that Indiana senator Joe Donnelly was “trying to steal the election” by buying Facebook ads for the libertarian Senate candidate.
Both tweets are examples of a disturbing trend in American elections: By spreading misinformation, Trump sought to shift the outcome of the midterms. Our elections are becoming less free, less fair, and less trustworthy. They are threatened from multiple angles, with foreign and domestic actors seeking to bend, break, or reinvent the rules to suit their liking. By spreading rumors on social media and amplifying choice stories into a 24-hour news cycle, these bad actors can sway the political narrative and hack an election without even touching a voting machine.
