One of the most controversial members of Congress, Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) the House Intelligence Committee Chairman, said in an interview on Thursday that electronic voting systems were “really dangerous” and “should not be used.”
“Nunes calls for ban on electronic voting systems”
Nunes calls for ban on electronic voting systems https://t.co/0yQhQEZODz pic.twitter.com/HLiwqOBeY2
— The Hill (@thehill) July 26, 2018
“The one thing we’ve been warning about for many, many years on the House Intelligence Committee is about the electronic voting systems,” Nunes told Hill.TV.
“Those are really dangerous in my opinion, and should not be used. In California – at least in the counties that I represent – they do not use an electronic system,” he added.
“I think anybody that does that, and that’s communicating over the web, it’s going to be a challenge. So you have to make sure that you limit that as much as possible, and we need a paper trail so that you can go back in case you have to do a manual recount,” Nunes said.
In February, a DHS cybersecurity official said that Russia had “successfully penetrated” the voter rolls in a small number of states in 2016 and warned California and 21 other states that Russia attempted to breach their systems. Election security experts have said that paper ballots are more secure than electronic voting systems since they cannot be hacked.
President Trump has sent mixed signals on whether he believes the intelligence committee’s assessment that here has been widespread interference in U.S. elections. In an about-face on Tuesday he said via Twitter that he is “very concerned” that Russia will try help Democrats by interfering in the 2018 midterm elections.
“I’m very concerned that Russia will be fighting very hard to have an impact on the upcoming Election. Based on the fact that no President has been tougher on Russia than me, they will be pushing very hard for the Democrats. They definitely don’t want Trump!”
I’m very concerned that Russia will be fighting very hard to have an impact on the upcoming Election. Based on the fact that no President has been tougher on Russia than me, they will be pushing very hard for the Democrats. They definitely don’t want Trump!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 24, 2018
In the Hill.TV interview, Nunes also talked about Trump’s announcement that he plans to revoke former intelligence officials’ security clearances.
Nunes said he agrees with the president that officials like former FBI Director James Comey and former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper have acted “extremely dishonest.” But, he said, “President Trump should not pull their security clearances.”
Nunes also said his committee is probing whether various informants in Russia received payments before there was an authorized investigation.
Concerning the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) warrant on former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page, the chairman said he believes they were more damning to the intelligence community than the information that has already been released.
Given that Devin Nunes is one of Donald Trump’s biggest supporters in Congress, it is surprising that he has come out against electronic voting because he recognizes the dangers of election interference. The fact that he has taken this position is a good sign that even right-wing Trump supporters are in favor of elections free from foreign interference.
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