How Trump’s obsession with ‘rigged’ voting machines spread across US government
Federal Election Inquiry Expands From Puerto Rico Machine Review
Bdbusinessdaily.com – A federal examination of voting equipment in Puerto Rico has grown into a far wider effort involving intelligence, law-enforcement and homeland-security agencies, reviving concerns about how claims surrounding the 2020 US presidential election are shaping government action ahead of the midterms.
In June 2025, government computer specialists moved between a warehouse in Puerto Rico and the offices of the territory’s election commission to inspect a voting machine used during the island’s 2024 elections. Supporters of the review saw the machine as a possible avenue to substantiate allegations that the 2020 election result had been manipulated in favour of Democrat Joe Biden.
Those allegations have been repeatedly rejected by courts, election administrators, post-election audits and US intelligence bodies. Even so, the Puerto Rico inspection became part of a broader search for evidence involving the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the Justice Department, the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI.
Kurt Olsen’s role
The effort was led by Washington attorney Kurt Olsen, who had spent years promoting President Donald Trump’s false assertion that the 2020 election was stolen. His work extended beyond the inspection of the Puerto Rico equipment, reaching election-related material in Arizona’s Maricopa County and prompting interest in examining voting systems in Venezuela.
The operation had two related objectives: finding material that could be presented as proof that the 2020 election had been rigged, and using that material to argue for major changes to the way US elections are administered.
A lot of them have come into the administration, and they're being given access to the power of the federal government to pursue the exact same claims that they tried to pursue in and around 2020.
Charles Stewart III, a political scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, described the significance of officials and allies of the stolen-election movement gaining access to federal authority.
Some White House and intelligence officials believed that a finding linking foreign adversaries or Trump’s political opponents to altered election outcomes could provide grounds for a larger federal role in elections. That possibility has alarmed election administrators, some of whom fear federal authorities could seek control of voting equipment or ballots during November’s midterm contests.
Dispute over the purpose of the Puerto Rico review
The White House said the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, led at the time by Tulsi Gabbard, began the Puerto Rico inquiry after island election officials raised machine-related concerns through the US attorney’s office. It said the stated purpose was to identify security weaknesses rather than reopen questions about the 2020 race.
However, Olsen pressed for the inquiry to focus on whether foreign actors had interfered with election outcomes. The search subsequently widened beyond Puerto Rico to include Georgia and Arizona, drawing several federal institutions into a politically sensitive examination of election systems.
The White House also said that no permanent White House staff participated in the decision to acquire or inspect the Puerto Rico machine. Yet Olsen, who had Trump’s backing, maintained regular contact with White House officials before the operation began. Coordination occurred between the White House and ODNI before the voting machine and additional equipment were obtained, and senior White House officials later became involved as the effort broadened.
Gabbard and ODNI did not comment on the matter. The CIA, Homeland Security and Justice Department also did not respond. The US attorney’s office in Puerto Rico declined to comment.
Why election officials are concerned
The issue reaches beyond the technical condition of one voting machine. Voting systems are central to the public’s confidence in election results, and unproven claims about their operation can quickly become a basis for fraud allegations, legal disputes and pressure on local election offices.
Election administration in the United States is largely handled by state and local governments. Federal agencies can play important roles in investigating threats, protecting infrastructure and enforcing laws, but a more expansive federal intervention in the handling of ballots or voting equipment would raise significant legal and practical questions.
With the midterms approaching, election officials are preparing for the possibility that voting machines again become a central target of misinformation. Some have retained lawyers, drafted emergency court documents and practised how they would respond if federal agents sought access to equipment or election materials.
The Puerto Rico investigation illustrates how arguments that failed in court after the 2020 election have continued to influence political and governmental activity. For election workers, the immediate concern is not only whether systems are secure, but whether public confidence can withstand another wave of unsupported allegations during a closely watched national vote.
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