President Trump has claimed that China attempted to obtain American voter data. He described this alleged action as a significant scandal.
However, the efforts by China to gather such data have been known for years. Voter information is often freely available online or purchasable. While this data can offer insights into voter behavior, it does not provide the means to alter votes.
Trump stated that China conducted “the largest compromise of election data in history” starting with the 2020 election cycle, claiming they illicitly collected 220 million voter files over several years. The precise basis for this claim, which might include data like names and addresses, remains unclear. Documents mostly redacted showed volumes of records, including about 204 million from 2016, were involved. China has accessed more sensitive data, such as government personnel files, than voter files could provide.
Trump’s claims were among several that appeared exaggerated compared to the more cautious conclusions of the documents his administration released regarding China and election security.
During the 2020 election cycle, the general consensus in U.S. intelligence was that China was not attempting to sway the election’s outcome. Nonetheless, there was an opposing view suggesting China preferred Trump’s defeat in the election.