Donald Trump won’t back down from his 2020 election narrative. He swears there was fishy business.
That’s why Trump’s stomach sank when he learned the truth about the 2020 election.
Iranian Hackers Expose Flaws in U.S. Election Systems
In 2020, Iranian hackers breached Alaska’s voter registration system, highlighting weaknesses in the U.S. election infrastructure, particularly for overseas voters. Election integrity advocates are urging the Department of Justice to investigate and address these vulnerabilities nationwide.
Alaska confirmed the 2020 breach, while federal authorities noted that “at least one state” had been compromised by Iranian actors. The DOJ later revealed that “approximately eleven state voter websites” faced attacks during the election cycle.
A report from the Election Research Institute (ERI), titled “Failure of the Weaponized Department of Justice to Protect the US Election System,” details a surge in overseas ballot applications and submissions in 2020. The report suggests Iranian hackers exploited stolen data from Alaska’s system to potentially manipulate these ballots.
On September 28, 2020, the FBI and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) warned of a “potential threat posed by attempts to spread disinformation regarding cyberattacks on U.S. voter registration databases or voting systems.” They noted that “foreign actors and cyber criminals” were spreading false information online to undermine confidence in the electoral process.
“These malicious actors could use these forums to also spread disinformation suggesting successful cyber operations have compromised election infrastructure and facilitated the ‘hacking’ and ‘leaking’ of U.S. voter registration data,” the agencies stated.
While the FBI and CISA initially claimed that publicly available voter data did “not impact the voting process or the integrity of election results,” they later confirmed, in October 2020, that an Iranian hacker had accessed voter registration data in at least one state. “CISA and the FBI observed this actor attempting to exploit websites to obtain copies of voter registration data between September 29 and October 17, 2020,” the agencies reported.
Alaska’s then-Lt. Gov. Kevin Meyer disclosed on December 3, 2020, that the state’s voter registration system, managed by an external vendor, had been breached. “Although some voters’ personal information was exposed, the Division has determined that no other elections systems or data were affected. The Division’s ballot tabulation systems, 2020 general election results, and voter database remain secure,” his office stated. The breach, discovered on October 27, exposed personal details of 113,000 voters, including birth dates and driver’s license numbers.
In November 2021, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York charged two Iranian hackers, Seyyed Mohammad Hosein Musa Kazemi, 24, and Sajjad Kashian, 27, for stealing voter data, sending threatening emails, and spreading disinformation about election vulnerabilities. The indictment noted attempts to compromise “approximately eleven state voter websites.”
The hackers posed as Proud Boys volunteers, sending deceptive messages to Republican officials and media, claiming Democrats planned to exploit “serious security vulnerabilities” in voter registration systems.
The ERI report highlights that absentee and mail ballots are verified using driver’s license or Social Security numbers. “If the [Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps] had submitted fraudulent applications or ballots to election officials in Alaska using the data from the breach, the Social Security or Driver’s License numbers would have been verified as correct in the matching process,” the report warns.
The hackers’ video demonstrated how stolen data could be used to complete Federal Write-In Absentee Ballots (FWAB) or Federal Post Card Applications (FPCA) for overseas voters. “The video included confirmed valid voter information that was copied and pasted into the fields used to create PDFs for at least three FWABs which can be used as emergency back-up ballots by individuals who are eligible to vote under the Uniformed Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA),” the ERI report states.
The report also notes a 41% increase in FWAB submissions in 2020 compared to 2016, with 33,027 FWABs submitted nationally. Alaska saw a 60% rise in overseas ballots, with 16,466 delivered online in 2020. Additionally, 764,691 FPCAs were received nationwide, nearly double the 2016 total, despite reduced overseas travel due to the pandemic.
The ERI report calls for urgent FBI investigations into these vulnerabilities and DOJ action to ensure compliance with voter verification requirements.
Concerns raised by Americans advocating for stronger election security have gained significant validation following revelations of foreign interference in the 2020 U.S. presidential election. Reports of Iranian hackers exploiting vulnerabilities in state voter registration systems, coupled with federal agencies’ initial downplaying of these threats, have bolstered calls for comprehensive investigations and reforms to safeguard future elections.
On September 28, 2020, the FBI and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) warned of foreign actors spreading disinformation to undermine confidence in U.S. elections. Initially, they claimed cyberattacks did not affect voting integrity. However, by late October, the agencies confirmed that Iranian hackers had accessed voter data in at least one state, contradicting earlier assurances.
Critics, including election integrity advocates, argue that the federal response was inadequate. The ERI report accuses the Department of Justice (DOJ) of failing to investigate the surge in overseas ballots, despite evidence of vulnerabilities in the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA) system. The report suggests hackers could exploit stolen data to submit fraudulent ballots, as voter verification often relies on matching driver’s license or Social Security numbers, which were compromised in the breach.
