Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite tv for pc community was used to tally swing state votes throughout the 2024 election, permitting him to “rig” or “hack” the election in favor of Trump.
Weeks after the 2024 U.S. presidential election, claims circulated that Elon Musk, founding father of SpaceX and supporter of Republican President-elect Donald Trump, had handed Trump the victory by hacking election outcomes utilizing Starlink, his satellite tv for pc web firm. Snopes rated this rumor unfounded.
For instance, on Nov. 21, 2024, an X person reposted a video wherein a lady claimed “Sure, Kamala [Harris, the Democratic presidential candidate] did win. Starlink and Elon Musk-y… Starlink and Elon Musk-y…” (archived):
The put up had amassed 129,200 views and three,000 likes as of this writing.
Days after the election, one post amplifying the rumor on X included a video clip of a report on the connectivity of Tulare County in California’s Central Valley (archived):
(@JamesTate121 / X)
“Elon Musk used Starlink to hack our elections so he can have good issues whereas inflicting ache on People,” the put up learn. The video stated:
Registrar Michelle Baldwin says entry to connectivity was improved this 12 months because of Starlink satellite tv for pc web. She provides technical difficulties with a tabulator machine have been rapidly mounted and didn’t affect the rely. 5 of the ten volunteers assigned to the Exeter ballot location didn’t present up, however Baldwin says the entire websites nonetheless ran easily.
This X put up had gained 214,500 views and seven,600 likes as of this writing, however this declare and questions surrounding it appeared a number of occasions on the social media platform, in addition to on Reddit, and TikTok.
The video was a part of a longer news report by ABC30, a tv channel in Fresno, California. The report indicated that the election course of had gone nicely in Tulare County, a rural space of the state. However the flurry of suspicions reached Snopes readers as nicely, who emailed us asking to verify if Musk had certainly used his firm to rig the election.
One post on X (archived) referred to a nine-minute video by TikTok person @etheria77 which it stated had been considered 1.6 million occasions. Whereas we couldn’t discover the video on the person’s TikTok profile web page — another video on Nov. 11, 2024 saying it had been eliminated — it appeared on X (archived):
(@AesPolitics1/X)
Within the video, the person claimed to have her “CCIE” — the Cisco Licensed Internetwork Skilled certification, a notoriously tough certification to acquire, with a pass rate of about 26%. “California and different swing states have been in a position to make use of Starlink with the intention to tally up and to rely voting ballots of their state,” she stated.
Many who considered the video demanded that the allegations be investigated, arguing that it was unethical that an organization owned by a Trump supporter needs to be concerned within the election course of.
Fueling the claims was one other video clip of podcaster Joe Rogan, who endorsed Trump earlier than the election. In it, Rogan claimed that Musk had an app that allowed him to verify the election outcomes 4 hours earlier than they have been introduced (archived):
Apparently Elon created an app and he knew who received the election 4 hours earlier than the outcomes. In order the outcomes have been coming in, 4 hours earlier than they known as it, Dana White informed me Elon was like ‘I am leaving, it is over, Donald received.”
However the actuality is that the overwhelming majority of voting machines don’t have any connectivity, because the federal certification requires voting systems to be “air-gapped” from different networks — that’s, fully unbiased. It additionally doesn’t permit machines to be geared up with wi-fi know-how reminiscent of Starlink, WiFi or Bluetooth.
When poll scanners are linked to something, it’s sometimes a closed community, used solely to transmit unofficial outcomes after the polls have closed and after reminiscence playing cards are eliminated to tally up votes for official outcomes. As such, a connection to Starlink is unimaginable, based on a number of specialists and election officers.
For instance, one of many federal Election Help Fee (EAC)-approved voting system producers is Clear Poll, which guarantees that its machines are on a “closed network” — that’s, that they aren’t linked to the web, wi-fi, or bluetooth. It additional ensures that the info saved within the machines is encrypted, and that every machine retains a log of anybody who has accessed it.
We reviewed voting system safety measures in all seven swing states.
In North Carolina, the law prohibits any voting system to be linked to any community:
No voting system utilized in any election on this State shall be linked to a community, and any characteristic permitting connection to a community shall be disabled. Prohibited community connections embrace the Web, intranet, fax, phone line, networks established by way of modem, or another wired or wi-fi connection.
Patrick Gannon, public data director for the Board of Elections of North Carolina replied to our inquiry in an electronic mail:
Satellite tv for pc-based web units weren’t used to tabulate or add vote counts in North Carolina. As well as, our tabulated outcomes are encrypted from supply to vacation spot stopping outcomes being modified in transit. Moreover, tabulators and ballot-marking units are by no means linked to the web in North Carolina. The truth is, it’s prohibited by state regulation.
We have now no proof of any alteration of votes by anybody. We ask, once more, that individuals cease spreading false details about elections.
In Georgia, the machines additionally don’t connect with the web. In response to website of Georgia’s Secretary of State:
The paper-ballot system protects Georgia in opposition to pc hackers and delivers dependable election outcomes which might be audited utilizing paper ballots.
- The machines don’t connect with the web, which limits cybersecurity dangers. Additionally they create an auditable paper-ballot, with different enhanced evaluate capabilities for the general public.
- Dominion’s product safety protocols meet or exceed U.S. Election Help Fee Voluntary Voting System Necessities.
- The paper-ballot system makes use of encryption, multi-factor authentication and role-based entry controls.
Pennsylvania also guarantees that “Voting methods are by no means linked to the web, and each vote forged on a voting machine is recorded on a user-verifiable paper poll.”
“Counties don’t use Starlink to transmit unofficial or official election outcomes,” Pennsylvania Division of State Press Secretary Matt Heckel stated in an electronic mail. “No voting system in Pennsylvania is ever linked to the web”
Arizona, one other swing state, additionally explains that its voting machines are “remoted”: “In Arizona, election methods (computerized methods that program elections and rely votes) are air-gapped, that means that they’re by no means linked to different networks, such because the web or workplace networks.”
Michigan, in the meantime, enforces comparable safety measures:
Voting machines can’t be linked to the web throughout poll tabulation. Solely after counting is completed and a paper file has been generated will some jurisdictions join the machines to the web to ship unofficial outcomes to the county clerk.
Nevada, similarly, ensures that its “voting system is a “standalone system” that’s not linked to a community, the Web, and don’t have wi-fi connection capabilities.”
Lastly Wisconsin is without doubt one of the states that makes use of a closed community to transmit unofficial outcomes, nevertheless it says its voting machines are usually not linked:
Voting methods utilized in Wisconsin are federally examined and authorized, excluding methods that transmit unofficial outcomes. Voting methods geared up with mobile modems haven’t acquired federal certification.
We contacted officers from the remaining 5 swing states to ask if elections had gone easily and can replace this report ought to they reply.
As for Tulare County in California, the identical journalist who made the report that sparked suspicions introduced a new report on Nov. 12 indicating that they’d requested county officers about these issues.
“In California. It is really unlawful for any a part of the voting system to be linked to the web. As such, our voting system operates inside a completely air-gapped surroundings. That means it is fully remoted from the web and another community,” Stephanie Hill, the methods and procedures analyst for Tulare County Registrar of Voters, informed ABC30.
The day after the election, on Nov. 6, 2024, Cybersecurity Infrastructure Safety Company Director Jen Easterly released a statement reiterating that the election had been safe:
As we have now stated repeatedly, our election infrastructure has by no means been safer and the election neighborhood by no means higher ready to ship secure, safe, free, and honest elections for the American individuals. That is what we noticed yesterday within the peaceable and safe train of democracy. Importantly, we have now no proof of any malicious exercise that had a fabric affect on the safety or integrity of our election infrastructure.
We additionally contacted Verified Voting, a non-governmental, non-partisan basis devoted to “selling the accountable use of know-how in elections.” In an electronic mail assertion, they defined that whereas Starlink had been utilized in some localities, its use was by no means associated to the voting methods in place (emphasis ours):
Starlink supplied connectivity in quite a few jurisdictions for digital ballot books (EPBs) on this election.
Neither Starlink nor different forms of communication networks play any function in counting votes. Most votes are tallied on scanners that do not have web connections, after which election officers use reminiscence playing cards to switch the outcomes to the central tabulator. The scanners additionally produce printed information of their vote totals previous to transmittal. Most states, together with all of the so-called swing states, use paper ballots or information that voters can confirm, and routinely look at a few of these ballots by hand to test the counts. Our elections produce large portions of bodily proof. A satellite tv for pc system like Starlink can not steal that.
Preliminary election outcomes from polling place voting are unofficial. These very native outcomes are compiled with all of the ends in a jurisdiction, reminiscent of a county, however earlier than the collected outcomes are finalized, there are processes in place to reconcile the variety of voters with the variety of ballots. Up to now polling place outcomes have been communicated to the county’s elections workplace via a modem. This follow of sending outcomes electronically is considerably uncommon, however regardless, none of these electronically transmitted outcomes are the official closing outcomes. The paper ballots counted by tabulators present proof of voters’ decisions in arduous copy. Audits and/or recounts look at that bodily proof.
