As reports from the Department of Homeland Security concerning state election system integrity are on the horizon, it is crucial for the public to remain vigilant against tactics employed by election deniers aiming to disseminate false or misleading narratives.
In a controversial move, President Trump has intensified efforts to exert control over election systems. In March, he instructed the Department of Homeland Security to evaluate the security of election technology and scrutinize state voter rolls for potential unqualified voters. Subsequently, the department discreetly updated its organizational chart to introduce a new position: deputy assistant secretary for elections integrity.
Filling this role is Heather Honey, an activist known for spreading inaccurate information regarding Pennsylvania’s elections. Among her claims is the debunked assertion that Pennsylvania had more votes than voters during the 2020 election, a claim debunked by numerous experts.
After her appointment, Honey organized a call with election officials from nearly all 50 states, reportedly repeating false claims of widespread fraud in the 2020 election and citing a report that erroneously suggested voting machines were manipulated (source).
Since 2017, DHS and the Cybersecurity and Information Security Agency have supported states by providing resources to protect election infrastructure, alerting officials to threats, and promoting information sharing. However, the credibility of DHS is now at risk.
Following an incident where an election website in Arizona was hacked, state officials chose not to consult DHS due to concerns over its reliability (source). Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes expressed concerns about further damaging relationships: “When the agency gives a platform to individuals who have actively worked to erode public trust, it becomes harder to view DHS as a reliable partner in election security” (source).
Cherry-Picked Data
Honey has been pivotal in attempts to discredit the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC), a bipartisan-supported organization that aids states in maintaining accurate voter rolls. Despite conspiracy theories leading some Republican-led states to withdraw from ERIC, an analysis by Votebeat and Spotlight PA found Honey’s claims about ERIC misleading (source).
Her claims omitted critical metrics, focusing only on certain aspects like removals related to address changes, and used data from 2020, an outlier year, ignoring more representative data from years like 2014 and 2018.
Misrepresentation of Election Systems and Processes
Often using official data to bolster her claims, Honey’s conclusions are flawed. For instance, her assertion that Pennsylvania had more ballots cast than voters in the 2020 election was based on incomplete data. The Pennsylvania Department of State explained that some counties hadn’t finished uploading their data, and voter roll data is continuously updated, making a single snapshot unreliable for determining voter participation.
Misleading Report Titles and Headings
Honey’s involvement with the controversial 2021 audit of election results in Maricopa County, Arizona, conducted by Cyber Ninjas, highlighted her use of misleading headings. The audit report suggested discrepancies that the body text did not support, using titles like “In-Person Voters Who Had Moved out of Maricopa County” to imply illegal voting without credible evidence (source).
Unreliable Data Sources and Tools
PA Fair Elections, supported by Honey, advocated for voter roll purges using data from EagleAI, a platform linked to a Trump donor-funded super PAC. However, as highlighted by the Brennan Center, EagleAI’s reliance on publicly available data risks misidentifying eligible voters as ineligible, potentially disenfranchising them (source).
The appointment of a leader with a history of promoting debunked election claims by DHS raises concerns about the department’s future approach to election security. As DHS releases reports on election systems, the outlined tactics should serve as cautionary tales for assessing these documents.
