President Trump recently made claims regarding China’s attempts to obtain American voter data, describing the activity as a significant scandal.
China’s efforts to collect voter data have been acknowledged for years. Voter data can often be downloaded or purchased online. Having this data could offer insights into American voters but does not permit vote manipulation.
Trump alleged a major compromise of election data, starting with the 2020 cycle, with 220 million voter files reportedly collected illicitly over several years. Supporting documents claim some 204 million records were acquired in 2016.
The precise method Trump used to arrive at these numbers is unclear, but documents included heavily redacted tables listing volumes of records obtained.
China has previously hacked more sensitive information, such as government personnel records. Trump’s claims were exaggerated or disconnected from factual assessments, as his administration released documents that provided measured evaluations of China’s involvement in election security issues.
During the 2020 election, U.S. intelligence agencies largely believed China was not attempting to influence the presidential outcome. However, there was a differing opinion that China preferred Trump to lose his re-election bid.
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