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Fact check: What security measures were in place for voting machines during the 2024 presidential election?
1. Summary of the results
The 2024 presidential election employed multiple layers of comprehensive security measures for voting machines, including:
- Physical security with limited access and constant surveillance [1]
- No internet connectivity for ballot scanning machines [1]
- Encryption and digital signing of election data [1]
- Federal Election Assistance Commission testing and certification [1]
- Paper ballot backup for approximately 98% of votes cast [2] [1]
2. Missing context/alternative viewpoints
There are two competing narratives regarding voting machine security:
*Security Concerns:
- Experts have warned about unauthorized access to voting system software in multiple states including Colorado, Georgia, and Michigan [3]
- Two major manufacturers, Dominion Voting Systems and Election Systems & Software, which count over 70% of votes nationwide, have experienced breaches [3]
- A group of experts called for federal investigation into these breaches [3]
Security Assurances:
- CISA has repeatedly confirmed election security [4]
- No evidence has ever challenged the integrity of election results [4]
- Most reported issues are isolated incidents rather than systematic problems [5]
- Voting machines have proven resilient against attacks [4]
**3. Potential misinformation/bias in the original statement**
The original question's neutral framing overlooks several important aspects:
Competing Interests:
- **Election technology companies** (Dominion and ES&S) benefit from maintaining public trust in their systems
- **Political actors** may benefit from either undermining or defending election integrity
- The real threat may actually be **disinformation campaigns** designed to undermine public confidence rather than actual security breaches [4]
Important Context:*
While security measures are robust, the focus on voting machine security might be misplaced, as the main challenges come from disinformation rather than actual technological vulnerabilities [4]. The existence of paper records for 98% of ballots provides a crucial verification method that's often overlooked in discussions about electronic voting security [2].