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WASHINGTON (AP) – A coalition of federal and state officials said on Thursday they had no evidence the votes were compromised or changed in last week’s presidential election, dismissing unsubstantiated claims of widespread fraud advances by President Donald Trump and many of his supporters.
The statement by cybersecurity experts, which proclaimed the Nov. 3 election as the safest in American history, amounted to the most direct repudiation yet of Trump’s efforts to undermine the integrity of the contest. He echoed repeated claims by election experts and state officials over the past week that the election was held. smooth without large irregularities.
“While we know that there are many unfounded allegations and opportunities for disinformation about our election process, we can assure you that we have the utmost confidence in the security and integrity of our elections, and you should too, ”the statement said. “When you have questions, turn to election officials, who are voices of confidence when administering elections.”
The statement was released by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, which led federal election protection efforts. It was tweeted by agency director Chris Krebs, who a few hours earlier had been the subject of a Reuters article that said he told associates he expected to be fired by Trump . Krebs made his voice heard on Twitter by repeatedly reassuring Americans that the elections were safe and that their votes would be counted.
“America, we are confident in the security of your vote, so should you,” he wrote.
Officials who signed the statement said they had no evidence that a voting system suppressed or lost votes, changed votes or was in any way compromised. They said all states with close results have paper records, which allows for the recounting of each ballot, if necessary, and for “identification and correction of any errors or errors.”
“The November 3 election was the safest in American history. Right now, election officials across the country are reviewing and rechecking the entire electoral process before finalizing the outcome, ”the statement said.
The message stands in stark contrast to Trump’s unsubstantiated fraud allegations and widespread problems that he says could affect vote totals.
The problems reported by the Trump campaign and his allies are typical of every election: problems with signatures, secret envelopes and postmarks on ballots in the mail, as well as the possibility of a small number. incorrect or lost ballots. With Democrat Joe Biden leading Trump to wide margins in major battlefield states, none of these issues would impact the election outcome.
Trump’s campaign also launched legal challenges complaining that their poll observers were unable to review the voting process. Many of these challenges were dismissed by the judges, some within hours of being tabled; again, none of the complaints indicate that the outcome of the election was affected.
Authors of the statement include the presidents of the National Association of State Election Directors and the National Association of State Secretaries – which organize state-level elections – and the council’s executive committee. government-industry coordinator that includes all major suppliers of voting materials. .
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