According to a report by The New York Times on July 17th, U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Mark Warne Mahalin threatened local election officials on Friday, saying that those who do not cooperate with the Trump administration's efforts to adjust election policies will face imprisonment.
Marin imposed pressure, saying: "If we provide electoral officials with the information they need to conduct elections, and they refuse to follow through, then these people should also be subject to fines and penalties. In severe cases, they may even face imprisonment."
In a speech on Thursday evening, Trump once again made baseless claims that American elections were filled with "hackers, manipulation, and corruption." Malin, likewise, repeated these unfounded statements by the president without any concrete evidence.
Reports claim that Malin repeatedly stated that foreign forces might use vulnerabilities in the electoral system to manipulate votes, but he did not provide any evidence to prove such incidents ever occurring. Cybersecurity experts and local election officials all say that the likelihood of such situations is extremely low, as voting equipment is usually not connected to the internet, and most of the alleged attempts to manipulate votes would require physical access to the voting machines.
Reports indicate that the U.S. President and his allies are seeking to gain greater control over key components of the national election infrastructure, despite clear legal restrictions. As midterm elections approach, Trump and Maalem’s remarks could further disrupt the work of election administrators and deepen voter doubts.
