Federal and state officials who coordinate election cybersecurity said Thursday there is “no evidence” last week’s election was compromised, calling it the “most secure in American history.”
In a joint statement, members of committees within the Department of Homeland Security, including officials from the U.S. Election Assistance Commission and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency and the presidents of the National Association of State Election Directors and the National Association of Secretaries of State, disputed “unfounded claims” of widespread voter fraud in the November 3 election.
“When states have close elections, many will recount ballots. All of the states with close results in the 2020 presidential race have paper records of each vote, allowing the ability to go back and count each ballot if necessary,” the statement said.
“This is an added benefit for security and resilience,” the group added. “This process allows for the identification and correction of any mistakes or errors. There is no evidence that any voting system deleted or lost votes, changed votes, or was in any way compromised.”
It continued: “While we know there are many unfounded claims and opportunities for misinformation about the process of our elections, we can assure you we have the utmost confidence in the security and integrity of our elections, and you should too. When you have questions, turn to elections officials as trusted voices as they administer elections.”
The director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, Chris Krebs, shared the statement on Twitter hours after Reuters reported that he had told associates he anticipated being fired by President Trump.
“America, we have confidence in the security of your vote, you should, too,” Krebs wrote.
Election Infrastructure Subsector – SCC/GCC Joint Statement on the 2020 Election. TLDR: America, we have confidence in the security of your vote, you should, too. #Protect2020 https://t.co/nT9ZnHTbSv
— Chris Krebs #Protect2020 (@CISAKrebs) November 13, 2020
The statement contrasts the Trump campaign’s repeated claims that the election has been plagued by widespread voter fraud.
Trump has refused to concede to President-elect Joe Biden, instead pursuing a number of lawsuits in battleground states, many of which have already been dismissed. Biden won the electoral college with 290 votes, according to projections by the Associated Press, and the popular vote by over 5 million votes.