The Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) censored social media users who expressed concerns over mail-in voting’s impact on election integrity. Documents released by America First Legal indicate that CISA knew of potential election integrity problems posed by mail-in ballots. Nevertheless, they were undeterred in censoring Americans who expressed similar concerns.
America First Legal alleges that CISA knew by September 2020 that in-person voting was unlikely to result in the mass spread of COVID-19. Yet the government agency perpetuated the narrative that mail-in-voting was necessary to mitigate a widespread illness outbreak.
The documents also reveal that CISA created “a chart specifying six significant fraud risks presented by mail-in voting.” Many of the risks listed were raised by average Americans who were subsequently censored on social media. The risks included the impact a “compressed timeline” would have on successfully implementing mail-in voting infrastructure, the high risk of “[i]ntegrity attacks on voter registration data and systems,” and confusion over the mail-in-voting process resulting in a high rate of rejection of ballots.
Despite the internal concerns at CISA, public-facing statements from CISA Director Chris Krebs insisted the process was accurate and secure. The agency contracted with Deloitte to flag and censor social media posts that raised concerns over the integrity of mail-in ballots.
“Common sense dictates that ballots submitted via mail are inherently less secure than verified, in-person voting by a citizen who shows identification before casting his or her ballot,” Gene Hamilton, Vice President and General Counsel of America First Legal, said in a statement.
He continued: “CISA received reporting and was aware of the risks associated with mass mail-in voting schemes, yet it simultaneously was engaged in an unprecedented censorship campaign to mislead the American people about the truth.”
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