Fact-checking Trump's speech on election security

President Trump has alleged that China carried out what is believed to be the largest compromise of election data in history, starting during the 2020 election cycle. He further claimed that the U.S. intelligence community's "deep state" actively sought to suppress and downplay China's actions, while also making accusations about voter registration fraud in the U.S.

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First, they show that over a period of years, starting during the 2020 election cycle, the People's Republic of China carried out what is believed to be the largest compromise of election data in history.

However, details remain unclear regarding how China accessed the voter data or what they did with it. U.S. election security officials have previously stated that much voter information is publicly available, with states like North Carolina and Ohio posting their voter files online for free. In some instances, these lists are available for purchase by political campaigns and parties.

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In reality, much U.S. voter information can be purchased or acquired through publicly available sources. While cyber actors have in recent years obtained voter registration information, the acquisition of this data did not impact the voting process or election results.

A September 2020 bulletin from the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and the FBI found that while cyber actors have obtained voter registration information in recent years, this acquisition did not impact the voting process or election results. The bulletin explicitly stated that the FBI and CISA have no information suggesting any cyberattack on U.S. election infrastructure prevented an election, stopped a registered voter from casting a ballot, compromised the accuracy of voter registration information, or compromised the integrity of any ballots cast.

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The FBI and CISA have no information suggesting any cyberattack on U.S. election infrastructure has prevented an election from occurring, prevented a registered voter from casting a ballot, compromised the accuracy of voter registration information, or compromised the integrity of any ballots cast.

Trump also asserted that the U.S. election system "falls catastrophically short" of a standard where "cheating and interference are not just difficult, but virtually impossible." CBS News fact-checked this claim as false, emphasizing that every American deserves to know their vote will be counted accurately in a system designed to prevent such issues.

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Every American deserves to know that when they cast their vote, that vote will be counted accurately in a system,