White House advisor Kurt Olsen, President Trump's election-security czar, sought to ban Dominion Voting Systems machines used in more than half of U.S. states. Citing two sources with direct knowledge, the plan involved asking the Commerce Department to declare the machines' components national-security risks.
Olsen pushed for a national system of hand-counted paper ballots, a frequent Trump demand that some experts say is less accurate than current auditable systems.
The proposal advanced as far as Commerce Department officials exploring grounds to execute it in September, but collapsed when Olsen's team failed to provide evidence. The effort is part of a broader Trump administration push to assert federal control over elections, traditionally run by states.
Olsen worked with top intelligence and law enforcement agencies to chase voting-rigging claims, focusing on the debunked theory that Venezuelan code infected Dominion machines to steal the 2020 election. Repeated investigations and lawsuits since 2020 have found no evidence of hacking.
In 2024, at least 27 states used Dominion machines. The company was purchased by Liberty Vote USA in October 2024.