Exclusive-White House delays release of US voting machine study as midterms near

By Erin Banco, Phil Stewart and Jonathan Landay

WASHINGTON, June 19 (Reuters) – White House officials have for months delayed the release of a U.S. government report that outlines what it describes as significant vulnerabilities in the nation’s voting machines ahead of the November midterms, according to three sources familiar with the matter. 

The report, produced by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, concludes that voting machines could be further safeguarded by, for example, updating their software, the sources said. It does not say the vulnerabilities have led to votes flipping, but examines security gaps in how the machines are used during U.S. elections. 

Some White House officials have argued the report could undermine voter confidence, particularly among Republicans. Others have said they do not believe the report goes far enough in supporting President Donald Trump’s false claims that the 2020 presidential election was rigged, the three sources said. Some Democrats said privately they worried Gabbard’s probe into voting machines would be used by the administration to push states to use paper ballots.

Several court cases filed by Trump’s lawyers failed to prove voter fraud in the 2020 presidential race. 

The sources were granted anonymity to discuss internal administration deliberations. 

Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, who launched an investigation into the voting machines and searched for evidence to support Trump’s false election fraud claims, steps down on Friday. Stepping in as interim director is federal housing regulator Bill Pulte. Trump has said he wants Pulte to investigate “rigged elections” during his time at ODNI.

It is unclear what Pulte plans to do with the report. He has been briefed on efforts by the agency to investigate flaws in voting machines, including the unreleased report, according to two of the sources.

Democrats and some analysts warn of possible interference by the Trump administration in the midterm elections, which analysts expect to deliver losses for Republicans.

Officials inside ODNI and experts who advised the agency advocated in meetings with White House officials that the administration begin fixing the flaws late last year in time to complete the process, which requires extensive coordination with states, before the midterms.

Asked about the delay in releasing the report, White House spokesperson Davis Ingle said in a statement that the administration “continues to offer assistance to state and local election officials, including through the FBI and CISA, to ensure the security and integrity of all machines used in American elections.” CISA is the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.

ODNI spokesperson Olivia Coleman said Gabbard has taken “actions within her authorities” to “support the President’s directive to secure our elections — which includes identifying vulnerabilities in our critical infrastructure.” 

Pulte did not respond to a request for comment.

REPORT PART OF ADMINISTRATION ELECTIONS EFFORT 

Some of the vulnerabilities detailed in the ODNI report have long been known to prior administrations, said one former senior Biden administration official and two of the other sources. The vulnerabilities include machines running outdated software and having the ability to connect to the internet, which hackers could exploit. 

All of the sources said they were unaware of any evidence of vote manipulation in U.S. elections. 

The report is part of the administration’s broader effort to investigate potential fraud in U.S. elections following Trump’s signing of an executive order in February 2025 that aims to give the federal government greater control over U.S. elections. 

Under the U.S. Constitution, states have authority over how elections are conducted. 

Senior officials at the FBI and the Justice Department have spoken publicly about their probes into potential voter fraud across the country. The report, which draws on data from open-source and classified intelligence, would be the first to detail the administration’s work on voting machines. 

It is one of two reports ODNI commissioned on voting machine flaws. The other report, which is also unpublished, was written last year by a government contractor, Mojave Research, which studied voting machines seized from Puerto Rico. 

Both reports have been referenced in White House meetings in which officials debated whether there was enough evidence to prove Trump’s claim that the 2020 election was stolen from him.

The Mojave report found no evidence the machines had been hacked, said two other sources. 

NO AUTHORIZATION FROM WHITE HOUSE TO RELEASE REPORT

ODNI has briefed the White House on its findings over the last six months, but never received authorization to publish them, two of the sources familiar with the matter said.

The report says many states are using outdated systems, the three sources familiar with the matter said.

The intelligence agency used information from previously issued reports by CISA, the government cybersystems watchdog, that referenced hacking conferences in which the agency found some voting machines could be attacked through insecure hardware. 

CISA has said it found no evidence that a foreign adversary interfered in the 2020 vote, and the agency joined other federal, state and local officials in declaring the election “the most secure in American history.” 

ODNI and the White House have also not published the Mojave report. Mojave’s contract was terminated in October.

The software and coding vulnerabilities identified in that report led to the company’s recommendation that the administration implement an emergency remediation plan that would force states to immediately update their software systems. Two sources said that plan has not been implemented.

(Reporting by Erin Banco, Editing by Don Durfee and Rod Nickel)