Before the election, U.S. officials and former officials stated that foreign interference in the 2024 election was likely. Three major factors cited were "America's deepening domestic political crises, the collapse of controversial attempts to control political speech on social media, and the rise of generative AI".[90] China, Russia, and Iran were identified as mounting influence operations and attempts to interfere with the 2024 election. U.S. intelligence officials described the efforts as part of broader efforts by authoritarian nations to use the internet to erode support for democracy.[91]
China
China was identified as interfering with the 2024 election through propaganda and disinformation campaigns linked to its Spamouflage operation. U.S. intelligence agencies described the effort as not targeting any particular candidate but focusing on issues important to the Chinese government, such as Taiwan, and "undermining confidence in elections, voting, and the U.S. in general".[91] As early as April 1, 2024, The New York Times reported that the Chinese government had created fake pro-Trump accounts on social media "promoting conspiracy theories, stoking domestic divisions and attacking President Biden ahead of the election in November".[92]
Russia
According to disinformation experts and intelligence agencies, Russia spread disinformation ahead of the 2024 election to damage Biden and Democrats, boost candidates supporting isolationism, and undercut support for Ukraine aid and NATO.[93][94] On September 4, 2024, the United States publicly accused Russia of interfering in the 2024 election and announced several steps to combat Russian influence including sanctions, indictments, and seizing of web domains used to spread propaganda and disinformation. U.S. intelligence agencies assessed that Russia preferred Trump to win the election, viewing him as more critical of American support for Ukraine.[95]
Iran
Iran was identified as interfering with the 2024 presidential election through front companies connected to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and hacking attempts against the Trump, Biden, and Harris campaigns starting as early as May 2024.[96] Iran launched propaganda and disinformation campaigns through fake news websites and accounts on social media to tip the election against former president Trump. The New York Times stated the efforts were an attempt at "sowing internal discord and discrediting the democratic system in the United States more broadly in the eyes of the world".[96][97][98]
Voter roll purges
Multiple Republican-led administrations removed voters from their state's voter rolls in the lead up to the election, which critics argued violates the National Voter Registration Act.[99][100][101] In July 2024, 160,000 inactive or infrequent voters were removed from Ohio's voter rolls.[102][103] The Ohio chapters of Common Cause and the League of Women Voters threatened lawsuits against the state over the purge.[104][105]
In August 2024, Governor Glenn Youngkin of Virginia signed an executive order removing 6,303 voters suspected of being non-citizens from Virginia's voter rolls.[106][107] In October 2024, the U.S. Department of Justice sued the Virginia Board of Elections and Virginia commissioner of elections over the voter purge, alleging that it violated the National Voter Registration Act.[108][109] The suit also found a number of alleged non-citizens purged were actually citizens.[109][110] District judge Patricia Tolliver Giles ruled that the removal was illegal, ordering the state to stop purging voter rolls and to restore the voter registration of more than 1,600 voters who had been removed.[111][110] The 4th Circuit Court of Appeals then upheld the order.[112][113] The administration filed an emergency appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, which sided with Virginia in a 6–3 decision, allowing the state to continue purging voter rolls.[113][114]
In August 2024, Alabama Secretary of State Wes Allen announced a process for purging 3,251 registered Alabama voters and referred them to the state attorney general's office for criminal prosecution.[100][115] In September 2024, the Department of Justice sued Alabama for violating the National Voter Registration Act.[116][117] In October 2024, district judge Anna Manasco ruled in favor of the Department of Justice, ordering the state to restore the voter registrations.[118][119] Alabama secretary of state's chief of staff Clay Helms testified that 2,000 of the purged voters were legally registered citizens.[119]
