‘Why was Starlink allowed to count our votes?’: Americans are questioning Elon Musk’s possible election interference
Americans have begun questioning the possibility of Elon Musk interfering in the 2024 election, with some Democrats positing Starlink was MAGA’s key to winning.
So far, there is no proof that the election results are inaccurate. However, there were instances of attempted election interference like voter roll purging, ballot box burnings, and Russian bomb threats at polling places in swing states. Meanwhile, before the election, Donald Trump had oddly claimed that people didn’t even have to vote and teased having a “little secret” with Speaker of the House Mike Johnson. After the election, Joe Rogan made a strange claim that Elon Musk had a secret app that gave him the election results four hours before everyone else. It remains unclear what Trump’s cryptic remarks meant and whether there’s any truth to the bizarre Musk claims. Combined with the fact that Kamala Harris received significantly fewer votes than Joe Biden in 2020 despite alleged record voter turnout, these instances have left Democrats uneasy about the election results.
Billionaire tech mogul Elon Musk’s involvement with Trump has especially raised red flags. His potential interference in the results isn’t so far-fetched, considering his interference leading up to the election. He turned the vast social media platform Twitter into the right-wing propaganda platform X, which he used to endorse Trump and spread misinformation like wildfire during Trump’s presidential campaign. On top of that, he received criticism for offering $1 million daily for his followers to sign his pro-Trump PAC. As a result, many voters were concerned that Musk’s technology, Starlink, was allegedly used during voting.
Elon Musk’s Starlink sparks election conspiracy theories
On social media, Democrats have begun pushing the conspiracy theory that Musk somehow used Starlink to skew the election results. Starlink is an internet service that uses a satellite constellation to deliver broadband internet to clients. Concern arose when poll workers in California mentioned using the technology on election day. A clip has circulated of a news reporter stating, “Registrar Michelle Baldwin says access to connectivity was improved this year thanks to Starlink satellite internet.”
Internet users instantly began to question, “Why was Starlink allowed to count our votes?” It seems many took the mention of Starlink to mean that the service was used to record, tally, and potentially skew votes. Meanwhile, claims that Musk somehow tapped into the election results before they were even publicized and reports of several Starlink satellites being destroyed have led to conspiracy theories about Starlink running wild on social media.
However, voting machines are not supposed to be connected to the internet. Hence, it is believed Starlink was only used for tabulators that deliver unofficial results after voting ends and voter memory cards are removed. Essentially, the technology would only be used to convey election results, but not to count them, making it highly unlikely Starlink would be able to skew the votes. At the same time, using Starlink in the election process at all is still concerning, given the apparent conflict of interest. Individuals have a right to be concerned, but they should also wait until the issue is investigated before pushing the Starlink election interference theory as truth.
Ultimately, there’s little evidence that Starlink did or even could interfere in the election. If there were any reason for concern, CISA would likely have caught on to it. Democrats need to remember that it’s not wrong or illegal to ask questions and have concerns, but it is important not to accept theories of election fraud unless they have been proven.
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