CISA censored mail-in voting concerns in 2020 despite knowing risks: America First Legal

"CISA received reporting and was aware of the risks associated with mass mail-in voting schemes, yet it simultaneously was engaged in an unprecedented censorship campaign to mislead the American people about the truth," said Gene Hamilton, America First Legal General Counsel.

By Natalia Mittelstadt

Published: January 22, 2024 4:10pm

Updated: January 22, 2024 4:30pm

The Department of Homeland Security's Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) censored social media narratives about mail-in voting concerns in 2020 despite knowing the risks of vote-by-mail, according to documents released by America First Legal on Monday.

America First Legal is suing CISA for 2020 records from its mis-, dis-, and malinformation (MDM) team. According to records obtained by America First Legal from its lawsuit and released on Monday, CISA knew that mail-in and absentee voting are less secure than voting in person.

Some of those issues included outsourced risks to the United States Postal Service, leading to a greater possibility that problems such as cyber attacks could occur.

However, CISA still supported the widespread policy change to mail-in voting across the country and censored social media narratives regarding mail-in voting concerns.

CISA contracted accounting and consulting firm Deloitte to monitor and flag social media posts regarding the 2020 election. These posts included concerns about mail-in voting, such as President Donald Trump’s Twitter post that there were “big problems and discrepancies with Mail In Ballots.”

America First Legal Vice President and General Counsel Gene Hamilton released a statement on Monday about the documents, saying, “Common sense dictates that ballots submitted via mail are inherently less secure than verified, in-person voting by a citizen who shows identification before casting his or her ballot.

"CISA received reporting and was aware of the risks associated with mass mail-in voting schemes, yet it simultaneously was engaged in an unprecedented censorship campaign to mislead the American people about the truth and about a great number of other things, like Hunter Biden’s laptop," he added. "The American people were lied to, and there must be accountability."

America First Legal has represented Just the News in some Freedom of Information Act cases.