مخاوف من فوضى انتخابية بعد تحركات داخل إدارة ترمب ضد أنظمة التصويت

Reuters reported, citing informed sources, that a senior official in President Donald Trump's administration led efforts last year to attempt to ban voting machines used in more than half of U.S. states by exploring the possibility of classifying their components as a national security threat.

According to the sources, White House advisor Kurt Olsen, a lawyer tasked by Trump to investigate repeatedly debunked election fraud claims, pushed to target Dominion Voting Systems' machines as part of broader discussions on how to give the federal government greater control over election management instead of the states, an idea Trump had previously publicly suggested.

The sources stated that Olsen was advocating for a national system based on paper ballots that are manually counted, a demand that Trump continuously reiterates, despite warnings from election security experts that manual counting may be less accurate and more prone to errors and manipulation compared to current systems that rely on electronic devices supported by auditable paper records.

The information clarified that the plan reached an advanced stage that prompted officials at the U.S. Department of Commerce in September to explore the possible legal foundations for its implementation, before later stalling due to Olsen's team's failure to provide evidence supporting the existence of a real security threat.

These moves come as part of a broader campaign by the Trump administration to intervene in the powers of states and local governments constitutionally responsible for managing U.S. elections, at a time when the White House continues to investigate claims of electoral fraud, despite their previous rejection by courts and bipartisan independent committees.

A Reuters investigation revealed that federal officials and investigators in at least eight states sought to obtain confidential records and pressured for access to voting equipment and to reopen files related to election fraud that had previously been legally dismissed.

The discussions also included officials close to U.S. National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard, including her senior aide Paul McNamara, as well as Brian Sikma.

According to the sources, McNamara requested the Department of Commerce to study the possibility of classifying the electronic chips and software used in "Dominion" machines as a security risk linked to "hostile" countries, such as China, Russia, and Venezuela.

One of the theories that Olsen focused on was based on previously debunked claims that "Dominion" machines contained software linked to Venezuela that contributed to stealing the 2020 election from Trump.

However, multiple investigations and lawsuits since then have found no evidence of the machines being hacked, while Fox News paid about $787 million in 2023 to settle a defamation lawsuit filed by "Dominion" for spreading false claims about election fraud.

Despite this, Trump continues to repeat these allegations, the latest being in May when he reposted an old clip that included accusations against "Dominion" machines of deleting millions of votes.

In another development, sources indicated that Olsen's team dismantled some voting machines used in the Puerto Rico gubernatorial election in 2025, searching for components manufactured in countries considered adversaries to Washington.

However, the examination revealed that one of the electronic chips was manufactured in China by Intel, while other components came from Japan, South Korea, and Malaysia, with no indicators found that threaten national security or prove the existence of Venezuelan software.

A meeting held inside the White House in September, attended by cybersecurity experts from the National Security Council, discussed the possibility of Venezuelan codes being present in the voting machines, before the Department of Commerce concluded not to take any official action against the manufacturing companies.