Daily Times

US federal law enforcement and cybersecurity agencies on Tuesday warned that “foreign actors” will likely try to discredit the November presidential election by taking advantage of the slow counting of mail-in ballots.

Americans are expected to submit mail-in ballots in record numbers for the Nov. 3 contest between President Donald Trump, a Republican, and his Democratic challenger Joe Biden. Many voters see mail-in ballots as a safer way to vote during the coronavirus pandemic, which has killed more than 200,000 Americans. But mail ballots typically take longer to count than ballots cast in person.

This “could leave officials with incomplete results on election night,” the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency said in a joint public service announcement.

“Foreign actors and cybercriminals could exploit the time required to certify and announce elections’ results by disseminating disinformation that includes reports of voter suppression, cyber attacks targeting election infrastructure, voter or ballot fraud,” the two agencies said.

This could come in the form of new websites or social media content, they said. The aim would be to “discredit the electoral process and undermine confidence in US democratic institutions.”