Insider threats will “likely be an issue” that election centers across the US will face in the coming weeks, according to a US intelligence memo viewed by WIRED. These threats, the memo warns, “could derail or jeopardize a fair and transparent election process.”
The bulletin cites the Department of Homeland Security’s definition of an insider threat: someone who “will use his or her authorized access, wittingly or unwittingly, to do harm to an entity.”
This stark warning was rolled into a situational awareness bulletin on the broader threat landscape faced by election centers heading into the 2024 election. It was published this month by Colorado Information Analysis Center (CIAC), Colorado’s counterterrorism center, which compiles intelligence from federal, state, and local agencies into threat reports shared with its law enforcement partners. This warning comes as election deniers across the US have assumed positions at all levels of the electoral system.
“The entire threat picture is elevated for this election,” Colorado’s Division of Homeland Security and Emergencies Management director Kevin Klein tells WIRED. “I think it’s fair to say that insider threats are a greater concern than in previous elections.”
“Due to the nature of the United States election process, many people are involved in administering or carrying out responsibilities that support elections, all of whom have a potential to be an insider threat,” states the bulletin, which was first obtained by Property of the People, a nonprofit focused on transparency and national security.
The intelligence bulletin outlines several examples of insider threat “red flag” behavior, including attempts to alter or destroy ballots, giving unauthorized personnel access to voting centers, accessing the computer network at odd hours, and turning off security cameras.
The bulletin doesn’t say why intelligence officials concluded that insider threats were likely this election. But since 2020, there has been a frenzied effort by election conspiracy theorists to install MAGA loyalists and election deniers as workers at all levels of the electoral process.
Countless conspiracy-fueled “election integrity” outfits have sprung up in recent years. Initially, most were focused on training Donald Trump loyalists as “poll watchers”—civilians who observe the democratic process and flag any concerns. Their ambitions have since broadened to include “poll workers,” seeking to install election deniers in positions responsible for administering the election in counties and cities around the US.