Federal election officials say 2020 election 'the most secure in American history'
Officials at the Department of Homeland Security's Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency sent out a press release Thursday declaring that the 2020 general election was "the most secure in American history."
The notice comes as President Donald Trump continues to contest mainstream media's calling Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden the victor in the race, with the Trump campaign alleging voter irregularities and voter fraud in numerous ongoing post-election lawsuits.
What are the details?
Members of the CISA's Elections Infrastructure Government Coordinating Council Executive Committee and its Election Infrastructure Sector Coordinating Council issued a joint statement saying, "The November 3rd election was the most secure in American history. Right now, across the country, election officials are reviewing and double checking the entire election process prior to finalizing the result."
"When states have close elections, many will recount ballots," the officials continued. "All of the states with close results in the 2020 presidential race have paper records of each vote, allowing the ability to go back and count each ballot if necessary. This is an added benefit for security and resilience. This process allows for the identification and correction of any mistakes or errors."
The officials insisted — emphasized with bold letters — that "there is no evidence that any voting system deleted or lost votes, changed votes, or was in any way compromised."
"While we know there are many unfounded claims and opportunities for misinformation about the process of our elections, we can assure you we have the utmost confidence in the security and integrity of our elections, and you should too," they added, closing by saying, "When you have questions, turn to elections officials as trusted voices as they administer elections."
President Trump warned leading up to the election that expanded mail-in voting amid the coronavirus pandemic would open the opportunity for widespread voter fraud that would give Democrats an advantage. Since the election has passed, he has asserted several times that the election was rigged.
Earlier in the day on Thursday, the president tweeted about a report claiming that a program from Dominion Voting Systems—used in 28 states—deleted "2.7 million Trump votes nationwide."
The Trump campaign has also released 234 affidavits regarding alleged voting irregularities in Michigan. TheBlaze managing editor Leon Wolf reviewed them this week and provided a breakdown of the accusations here.
Meanwhile, pro-Trump groups have planned a #StopTheSteal rally in Washington, D.C., slated for Saturday, in support of the president as he fights back against the projected election results.
Pro-Trump groups plan weekend #StopTheSteal MAGA march in D.C.
An assortment of pro-Trump groups will rally Saturday in Washington, D.C., to protest perceived election fraud and support President Donald Trump, who has not yet conceded the presidential election to former Vice President Joe Biden.
Various groups, including the Million MAGA March, Women for Trump, and Stop the Steal DC have invited all Trump supporters to participate in an organized protest at noon Saturday at Freedom Plaza, near the White House and along the National Mall, multiple outlets reported.
3 days...Spread to social media, Facebook, Instagram, Reddit... Donald J Trump took a stand for America, now we n… https://t.co/IhMROYjqi4— Million Maga March (@Million Maga March)1605152367.0
According to WDVM-TV, counterprotests are planned at Black Lives Matter Plaza. The Metropolitan Police Department released plans for no parking zones in and around the downtown area to accommodate the protests.
"Our Police Chief will have a similar posture this weekend as he did last week, and we will be there to support peaceful exercise of First Amendment demonstrations," D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser said at a news conference.
D.C. police reportedly advised those who plan to attend the protests that the capital's notoriously strict gun laws will be enforced.
WTOP national security correspondent J.J. Green reported that while the planned protests are gaining attention and interaction on social media, some followers are skeptical of the wisdom of traveling to Washington.
"There are not a lot of people biting on this; there are a lot of people following them on social media. But there are a lot of people that are doubtful about the wisdom of coming here to do this," Green said.
The protests are already being characterized as "white nationalist" by mainstream media outlets. Politico reported that "Oath Keepers, Three Percenters, Infowars fanatics, Groypers, Proud Boys, white nationalists, neo-Nazis and the people who would simply call themselves die-hard MAGA" plan to attend.
WTOP's report noted that federal, state, and local law enforcement organizations are monitoring the groups planning to attend the protest. Green reported that it is "not likely" that a repeat of the 2017 clash between white nationalists and counterprotesters in Charlottesville, Virginia, will happen again.
"In part because authorities here are so well-prepared and have that knowledge under their belt. And … you can't carry guns in D.C. … I'm pretty sure that any organizers are making it very clear to people who come to D.C., 'Do not bring a gun.' Other weapons maybe, but it's not likely that this is going to turn into that," Green said.
The Twitter account for Million Mega March posted a public prayer asking God to let the march happen peacefully, "without conflict from those who wish to agitate and cause violence."
Lord protect us during our protest as we stand up against the forces of evil, as we go on to Washington D.C. to… https://t.co/3LHp2Y5e3r— Million Maga March (@Million Maga March)1605205521.0
(H/T: The Federalist)
Pro-Trump ‘Stop the Steal’ group with over 360K members gets shut down by Facebook: 'This is outrageous!'
A massive pro-Trump Facebook group named "Stop the Steal" was shut down by the social media company after quickly amassing over 360,000 followers since it was created on Wednesday. The group described itself as pledging to "do whatever it takes to ensure the integrity of this election for the good of the nation."
Amy Kremer, a former Tea Party activist and co-founder of Women for Trump, started the Stop the Steal Facebook group. The group page was run by the Women for America First, an organization led by Kremer that describes itself as: "Engaging, inspiring and empowering women to make a difference."
The description of the now-deleted page reads: "Democrats are scheming to disenfranchise and nullify Republican votes. It's up to us, the American People, to fight and to put a stop to it."
On Thursday morning, Kremer warned that "Facebook is flagging almost every post as false," and added that the social network is "probably going to shut us down."
Shortly before 2 p.m., Kremer announced that the Stop the Steal Facebook group had been removed.
"Wow. @Facebook just shut down the @america1stwomen #StoptheSteal group The group wasn't even 24 hours old and had over 350K members," Kremer wrote on Twitter. "The left is trying to steal an election and Social media is complicit. This is outrageous!"
According to a screenshot of the group's page, it had attracted 365,000 followers in 22 hours. Reuters noted that the page was adding 1,000 new members every 10 seconds.
Wow.@Facebook just shut down the @america1stwomen #StoptheSteal group The group wasn’t even 24 hours old and ha… https://t.co/YPfZwi3kzw— Amy Kremer (@Amy Kremer)1604601990.0
"The group was organized around the delegitimization of the election process, and we saw worrying calls for violence from some members of the group," a Facebook spokeswoman said in a statement.
The group was organizing protests and called for "boots on the ground to protect the integrity of the vote."
Before Facebook banned the Stop the Steal group, several media outlets were calling for the page to be de-platformed:
- Media Matters wrote an article with the headline, "Right-wing influencers are using the #StopTheSteal hashtag to buoy Trump's attempts to undercut democracy."
- Rolling Stone stated that the group was "spreading dangerous misinformation" in an article titled, "Pro-Trump 'Stop the Steal' Group Is Rapidly Expanding, and Facebook Is Letting It."
- Mother Jones published an article titled, "A Massive "Stop the Count" Facebook Group Has Ties to Republican Operatives."
When Facebook users clicked on the group's page, they were encouraged to sign up for updates through the StolenElection.us website. The domain for the site is registered to the Liberty Lab, which was involved in Newt Gingrich's 2012 presidential campaign.
Social media censorship of conservatives has been a hot topic. During testimony before the Senate last month, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg claimed that he was not aware that the company's head election integrity official had previously worked as a policy adviser to Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden.
Twitter has slapped a label on any tweet that makes claims about election results before they're officially called and any other "misleading information."
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