Matt Blaze2d ago

RE: https://esq.social/@SuffolkLITLab/116229521620498862

The ProPublica piece is kind of a mess - it doesn't even mention CISA by name - but some of the issues are concerning. In particular, the proposals are extremely vague.

They want to ban "voting machines" (under what authority?). Does that mean touchscreen DREs? Fine, that's what virtually all technical experts have recommended for a while. Or do they mean any electronic tabulation, including optical scan paper ballots (widely used and amenable to reliable post-election audits)?

Show threadMatt Blaze2d ago
One gets the impression from the article that the current CISA leadership is focused more on re-litigating 2020 than on meaningfully helping states improve their election security, but hopefully they can be nudged toward advocating practical, proven, high-impact reforms, like default use of hand-marked paper ballots and routine post-election risk-limiting audits.
Show threadMatt Blaze2d ago
It's also worth noting that DHS/CISA has essentially no authority over elections, which are run by states. Their role is advisory, particularly recommending best practices and disseminating threat intelligence.
Show threadMatt Blaze2d ago

Also, it's simply too late to make any major changes to election systems this year. Primaries have already started, and the general election is in eight months.

I think it's reasonable to suspect that the play here is simply to set the stage for casting doubt on election outcomes that they regard as unfavorable.

Show threadMatthew Miller2d ago

@mattblaze

I hope you're right. I'm afraid the play will be to issue an 11th-hour executive order claiming some such authority (maybe nominally based on some obscure law or ruling that had never been interpreted like that before). Then tie everything up in state legislatures, courts, and chaos.

Show threadMatt Blaze

@mattdm maybe they have MAGICAL POWERS, too.

Trying to stick to what we actually know here.

Mar 15 at 4:10pmWeb
Show threadMatthew Miller2d ago

@mattblaze

Well, we know that they _claim_ magical powers all the time over other things — birthright citizenship, tariffs, whether someone is "entering" the US. If it were as simple as "they don't really have those powers so it won't be a problem"... well, it clearly isn't.

Trump has talked more than once about cancelling the election. (https://time.com/7346834/trump-canceling-midterm-elections-joking-white-house/). Is it a "joke"? Well... I think this puts it well: https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2025/07/19/donald-trump-joking-serious-00442035

We can't _know_, but he _has_ put it on the table.

White House Insists Trump Is ‘Joking’ About Canceling Midterm Elections

Trump has suggested canceling the upcoming midterm elections not once, but twice, in a matter of days.

Time