White House levels new allegation that China swept up voter data

Key Points:

• The Trump administration reaffirmed allegations that China collected millions of American voter registration files, viewing it as election interference, with a fact sheet approved by multiple intelligence agencies stating the data included non-public information.
• The administration claims China acquired voter data from commercial websites over several years, obtaining tens of millions of files from 18 states in 2020 and 220 million by 2023, though it is unclear how the data was intended to be used.
• Intelligence assessments from 2021 concluded that China and other foreign countries did not interfere with technical aspects of the 2020 election, and experts have noted that voter registration files are often public and do not enable direct manipulation of election outcomes.
• A 2020 intelligence memo suggested China analyzed voter data for public opinion purposes, but there is no confirmed evidence that China altered voter registrations or ballots; China denies any election meddling.
• The White House warned that foreign access to voter data could enable malign activities, though election experts emphasize that public voter files cannot be used to change registration records or votes.