Delayed election results and false information: FBI issues warning of what to look for
Election night and the days following are already likely to be confusing and contentious as delayed results may make it unclear who won political contests, including the race between President Donald Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden.
But another factor could add to the potential chaos: false information.
“Foreign actors” may take advantage of potentially delayed election results and spread misinformation to “discredit the electoral process and undermine confidence in U.S. democratic institutions,” the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency said in an announcement Tuesday.
A record number of voters are expected to cast mail-in ballots due to the COVID-19 pandemic. But some states have laws against counting mail-in ballots before Election Day, and some don’t have the resources to count them quickly. Election officials typically need “several days to weeks” to make sure every vote was counted and to certify the results, the FBI says.
So the increase in mail-in ballots could leave election officials with incomplete results after the polls close on Nov. 3, the FBI and CISA said.
The agencies warned that cybercriminals and “foreign actors” will likely use the time it will take to announce the official results to spread false information.
They urged Americans to watch out for fake problems that try to convince people the election was illegitimate, including: voter suppression reports, “cyberattacks targeting election infrastructure” and “voter or ballot fraud.”
False information could spread through new or existing websites or on social media, the agencies said.
Americans should “critically evaluate” the sources from which they get their information and seek out trusted sources like state and local election officials for reliable information, according to the FBI and CISA. The agencies also recommend verifying “any reports about problems in voting or election results” with multiple reliable sources.
Additionally, they say to rely on state and local government officials for final election results.
The warning comes as voting by mail has been a contentious topic in the United States. While some politicians and advocates have tried to expand access to mail-in voting during the pandemic, President Donald Trump and others in the White House have repeatedly said, without evidence, that it will lead to increased fraud and hurt Trump’s chances of winning reelection.
Other officials have already warned that foreign actors are attempting to interfere with the 2020 presidential election.
William Evanina, the director of the National Counterintelligence and Security Center, released a statement last month saying the agency was concerned about “covert and overt influence measures,” specifically from Russia, China and Iran, trying to “sway U.S. voters’ preferences and perspectives, shift U.S. policies, increase discord in the United States, and undermine the American people’s confidence in our democratic process.”
Those who come across “potential election crimes” are asked to report them to the FBI.
“If appropriate, make use of in-platform tools offered by social media companies for reporting suspicious posts that appear to be spreading false or inconsistent information about election-related problems or results,” the FBI and CISA said.
