Election interference refers to attempts to undermine democratic processes by manipulating public opinion, tampering with votes, and otherwise compromising electoral integrity. While foreign meddling has garnered much attention, the vast majority of election interference occurs domestically, and in many cases it is carried out by government agencies or individuals with access to personal information (Sydell, 2024).
The Brennan Center has long recognized that there are three primary threats to democracy and the integrity of elections: 1) the proliferation of politicized disinformation that distorts or confuses the electorate; 2) attacks on the actual mechanics of vote counting; and 3) a wide range of harmful domestic and state-level actions by states, the federal government, and private actors.
In addition to deploying propaganda and other forms of misinformation, some governments or political groups employ hackers and trolls to target voters, election officials, and perceived adversaries. These cyberattacks often skew or manipulate online conversations by injecting them with false, shocking, negative, or exaggerated content. They may also dox people or pressure state and local officials to purge voter rolls, restrict voting access, or disenfranchise communities.
While there have been some examples of alleged foreign meddling in the 2016 presidential election, scholars have found that Russian efforts to promote Trump barely made an impact. However, it has become increasingly clear that the Trump administration and allied state and local officials are carrying out a concerted effort to weaken democracy and erode electoral integrity in America.
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