⁍ Many voters see mail-in ballots as a safer way to vote during the coronavirus pandemic.
⁍ Mail ballots typically take longer to count than ballots cast in person.
⁍ This ‘could leave officials with incomplete results on election night,’ agencies say.
– With less than two weeks to go until Election Day, the FBI and cybersecurity agency are warning that “foreign actors” will likely try to rig the election by using the slow counting of mail-in ballots, Reuters reports. mail ballots typically take longer to count than ballots cast in person. This “could leave officials with incomplete results on election night,” the FBI and Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency said in a joint public service announcement. “Foreign actors and cybercriminals could exploit the time required to certify and announce elections’ results by disseminating disinformation that includes reports of voter suppression, cyber attacks targeting election infrastructure, voter or ballot fraud,” the agencies said. “This could come in the form of new websites or social media content,” they said. “The aim would be to ‘discredit the electoral process and undermine confidence in US democratic institutions.'” Joe Biden’s campaign is worried that Donald Trump will complain that mail ballots are being stolen. Trump has repeatedly warned that the practice is rife with fraud and that Democrats would use mail ballots to rig the election. Still, Trump’s campaign has urged the president’s supporters to also request absentee ballots. Biden currently leads in most national public opinion polls, but a close contest is expected. The Biden campaign is bracing for the prospect that while early results might favor Trump, the lead could shift because Democrats are expected to vote by mail in larger numbers, which they fear will prompt Trump to complain the contest is being stolen.
Source: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election-cyber/us-warns-foreign-actors-aim-to-sow-doubts-over-mail-in-voting-idUSKCN26D34C