Colorado Partners,
This week the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) issued a report (available here), and the Department of Justice and Department of Homeland Security jointly issued a report (available here), outlining how foreign adversaries meddled in the 2020 election. We know everyone is busy so we wanted to briefly provide our assessment of the key takeaways for Coloradans:
Technical Interference: Foreign adversaries did not “….alter any technical aspect of the voting process in the 2020 US elections, including voter registration, casting ballots, vote tabulation, or reporting results.” DHS and the FBI investigated claims that Cuba, China, or Venezuela manipulated election systems—and determined these claims are not credible.
Attempts to Influence: Russia and Iran did spread disinformation about the electoral process—particularly in regard to fraud, mail voting, and results—to decrease Americans’ confidence in the system. They also attempted to sow division and exacerbate social and political tensions in the US.
Looking Forward: The reports warned that adversaries almost certainly will meddle in future elections, for example, “…that Moscow will continue election influence efforts to further its longstanding goal of weakening” the US.
The Colorado Secretary of State recently posted on Twitter (thread available here) regarding these important reports. We would appreciate any efforts to re-tweet or otherwise share this important information with your community here in Colorado to increase awareness about the threat of foreign influence and continue to build resilience.
Thank you for partnering with us. If you have any questions, ideas, or suggestions for ways we can further work together to combat foreign influence, please let us know.
Aaron Hayman
Senior Elections Security Specialist
303.860.6910 (office)
aaron.hayman@sos.state.co.us
1700 Broadway, Suite 550
Denver, CO 80290 |