US intelligence quietly investigated Puerto Rico’s voting machines last year over hacking fears, but found no evidence of foreign interference, raising questions about intelligence agencies’ role in election security
In a previously unreported move, the office of the United States’ top intelligence official investigated voting machines in Puerto Rico last spring as part of a broader look at election security, officials told Reuters. A team working for President Donald Trump’s Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, coordinated the inquiry with the FBI in an effort to examine potential vulnerabilities in the island’s electronic voting systems.
The operation took place in May 2025, when machines and data from Puerto Rican voting equipment were voluntarily handed over for forensic analysis, according to sources and a statement from Gabbard’s Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI).
The goal was to investigate unproven claims that Venezuela had hacked the territory’s election systems, though sources told Reuters the probe did not turn up clear evidence of Venezuelan interference.
Gabbard’s office defended the investigation as a standard cybersecurity review, saying its focus was on identifying weaknesses in the electronic voting systems rather than pursuing allegations about any one foreign government.
A spokesperson said taking machines and data for analysis was “standard practice in forensics analysis.”
ODNI’s review reportedly flagged concerning cybersecurity and operational issues in the Puerto Rico equipment, including reliance on vulnerable cellular technology and software flaws that could, in theory, offer unauthorised access deep into election systems. The agency warned that similar vulnerabilities could pose risks in other parts of the United States with like infrastructure.
Some national security experts have questioned the intelligence community’s involvement in a domestic election matter, adding that investigations of voting systems are typically handled by law enforcement rather than intelligence agencies. Critics argue that the move blurs lines between foreign intelligence and domestic election security.
Puerto Rico’s residents are US citizens but do not vote in presidential general elections, and they lack voting representation in Congress.
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