Republicans made eight attempts to breach voting systems in five states in search of evidence of a debunked conspiracy theory that voting machines flipped votes from former President Donald Trump to President Joe Biden, according to a Reuters investigation.
Trump allies targeted voting systems in Colorado, North Carolina, Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania. At least five of the breaches are under investigation by federal or local law enforcement. Four of the breaches forced officials to decertify or replace voting equipment due to security concerns. All of the attempts involved Republican officials or party activists who have pushed false claims about Trump's election loss.
Four voting law experts told Reuters that the extent of the breaches is "unprecedented in modern U.S. elections."
"You need to make sure that those ballots are maintained under strict chain of custody at all times," David Becker, executive director of the nonpartisan Center for Election Innovation and Research, told the outlet. "It's destroying voter confidence in the United States."
Surveillance video obtained by Reuters shows Republican Elbert County, Colo. Clerk Dallas Schroeder attempting to copy hard drives containing sensitive voting data. He later testified that he received instructions from a pro-Trump conspiracy theorist to make a "forensic image of everything on the election server."
Schroeder is under investigation for potentially violating election laws by Colorado Secretary of State Jena...
Welcome to Reality Check, NewsGuard’s nonpartisan newsletter that tracks the false claims and conspiracy theories that shape our world — and who’s behind them. Please support us by becoming a premi...