No, Swing States did not use Starlink to manipulate ballots for Trump

A viral video claims that Republicans used Starlink – a satellite internet provider owned by Elon Musk – to manipulate vote counting in swing states.

In the 9 minute video that was shared on “Swing states were able to use Starlink to tabulate and count the ballots in their state,” she says. The video goes on to explain that Starlink devices were sent to states by Elon Musk and that the Linux operating system used by Starlink would not be able to count votes for either candidate.

The claim is incorrect. Starlink systems – which provide internet connectivity through a constellation of thousands of satellites orbiting the Earth – were used by election officials in some states to improve internet connectivity at polling places nationwide. However, Starlink is not a tabulation system and was not used to count or relay votes in the swing states.

Using election jurisdictions across the country different methods for casting and counting ballots, including hand-marked paper ballots, ballot marking devices (BMDs), optical scanners, and electronic direct recording (DRE) systems. These systems are reviewed and approved by each state prior to Election Day and, with a few exceptions, there is no active internet connection.

“Neither Starlink nor other forms of communications networks play a role in the vote counting. Most votes are counted on scanners that do not have an Internet connection, and then election officials use memory cards to transfer the results to the central tabulator,” said Pamela Smith, president and CEO of Verified Voting, a nonprofit organization focused on responsible voting. use of elections. technology – told Shipping Fact Check in an email. “The scanners also produce printed records of their vote totals before transmission. Most states, including all so-called swing states, use paper ballots or data that voters can verify, and routinely examine some of these ballots by hand to verify counts. Our elections produce enormous amounts of physical evidence. A satellite system like Starlink cannot steal that.”

However, some elements of election administration rely on internet connectivity. Many states use electronic poll books (EPBs) or statewide voter registration databases to verify voters, confirm their registration and vote type, verify signatures, and ensure voters have not already cast ballots elsewhere. Real-time internet connectivity is not required in all cases to conduct electronic polling, but some states rely on stable internet connections to keep their systems working. “Starlink provided connectivity in a number of jurisdictions for EPBs in this election,” Smith said.

In Arizona, for example, several voting jurisdictions used Starlink systems. alongside traditional internet solutions and FirstNet internet trucks, to improve internet connectivity for their EPBs. “As part of a pilot program to improve connectivity in underserved areas, our office deployed Starlink systems in Coconino, Apache and Navajo counties to support ePollbook syncing,” a representative of the Arizona Secretary of State said. Shipping Fact Check in an email. However, Arizona’s vote tabulation systems were not connected to the Internet and the official results could not be changed by Starlink.

Starlink use was not widespread, and other swing states, such as North Carolina and Pennsylvania, did not use the technology at all. “Satellite-based internet devices were not used in North Carolina to tabulate or upload vote counts,” a representative of the North Carolina State Board of Elections said. Shipping Fact Check in an email. “Additionally, our table results are encrypted from source to destination, which prevents results from being changed in transit. We have no evidence of any change in votes by anyone.”

Officials in Pennsylvania sent a similar confirmation. “Counties do not use Starlink to report unofficial or official election results,” a representative from the Pennsylvania Department of State said Shipping Fact Check in an email. “No voting system in Pennsylvania has ever been connected to the internet.”

Shipping Fact Check received no response from election officials in Georgia, Michigan, Nevada or Wisconsin.

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