Election security: Officials say 2024 election saw only 'minor' disruptive activities

Voting hours were extended at a number of polling sites due to technical issues.

From the polling place to the courtroom, ABC News tracks the latest election security developments on Election Day 2024 as experts warn about the spread of misinformation and disinformation from within the U.S. and abroad.

Security experts stress that the nation's voting infrastructure is highly secure, and that isolated voting issues do not indicate widespread election fraud.

For coverage of each race, see our election updates.


How to watch ABC News coverage of Election Day

On Election Day, voters around the country will eagerly wait to hear if former President Donald Trump or Vice President Kamala Harris comes out on top in the race for the White House.

ABC News will have full coverage of the presidential election results and many other key down-ballot races on Election Day and the days afterward as votes continue to get counted.

Here's how to watch ABC News live coverage of 2024 election results.


0

Judge's decision coming 'shortly' on Elon Musk giveaway case

Philadelphia Judge Angelo Foglietta said he plans to issue a decision "shortly" after a nearly six-hour hearing over Elon Musk's America PAC's million-dollar giveaway, as Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner is seeking an emergency injunction to stop the sweepstakes.

During closing arguments, a lawyer for Krasner called Musk's giveaway "one of the great scams of the last 50 years" by deceiving more than a million swing state voters to sign a petition in the hopes of winning a million dollars.

"There is nothing random about that process,” the lawyer, John Summers, said. "This was a profound, devastating and widespread deception."

Summers argued that Musk attempted to "influence the election" by encouraging hundreds of thousands of voters to sign a petition while preselecting the winners based on their "suitability" to serve as spokespeople for the political action committee. Summers argued that even if the lottery was not random, it's still illegal under Pennsylvania law.

"They essentially advertised this as a lottery. It’s not a defense that what we said it was isn't true," Summers said.

Andy Taylor, a lawyer for Musk’s America PAC, argued that the DA’s case falls apart after today's revelation that the alleged lottery awarded preselected winners.

"It's an opportunity to earn. It's not a chance to win," Taylor said, emphasizing the winners' roles as spokespeople for the PAC.

Taylor emphasized that the case centers on a petition in support of the First and Second amendments, arguing that shutting down the giveaway would infringe on free speech.

"You are going to smother in the crib the rights of millions of Pennsylvanians from exercising constitutional magnitude free speech," Taylor said.

Speaking outside court, Krasner’s attorney declined to comment on the specifics of the case, simply acknowledging, "It's in the hands of the judge."

-ABC News' Peter Charalambous


CISA continues to see threats toward election officials

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency continues to see threats towards election officials a day before Election Day, according to a top official for CISA, the cyber arm of the Department of Homeland Security.

In a call to reporters Monday, Cait Conley, who is in charge of CISA's election security portfolio, called these threats "fundamentally un-American."

CISA Director Jen Easterly said most local elections officials are in touch with law enforcement.

"We've not seen specific reporting about violence at polling places, so I certainly don't want voters to feel at all intimidated about going to voting locations," Easterly said, saying it should "really be a day of celebration."

Easterly said they "expect" disruptions throughout Election Day, and they are prepared for it. Foreign adversaries -- particularly Russia, China and Iran -- are looking to "undermine American confidence and the legitimacy of our elections and to stoke partisan discord," she said.

-ABC News' Luke Barr


Trump campaign looks to Vance to help them over the finish line in Pennsylvania

From the moment he arrived in Milwaukee, after being named former President Donald Trump's running mate, it was clear that one of Sen. JD Vance's primary roles was to help deliver battleground Pennsylvania for the former president.

The day Vance was announced as Trump's vice presidential pick in July, Trump told ABC News Chief Washington Correspondent Jon Karl that he was "going to leave [Vance] in Pennsylvania."

Pennsylvania's importance in this election can't be overstated -- it's a crucial swing state with 19 coveted electoral votes where Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris are neck and neck. Whoever wins the state is very likely win the presidential election. During the 2020 election, Pennsylvania was the state that sealed the presidency for President Joe Biden.

Click here to read more about Vance's efforts in Pennsylvania.

-ABC News' Hannah Demissie


Musk's sweepstakes winners were vetted, signed NDAs: Political adviser

Before announcing the winners of Elon Musk's $1 million giveaway, America PAC employees conducted background checks on them, vetted their social media and had them sign non-disclosure agreements, Elon Musk's political adviser Chris Young testified during an ongoing hearing in Philadelphia on Monday.

The inside look at how winners were selected is at odds with how Musk himself described the "random" selection process.

"Were you surprised that he used the word 'randomly'?" Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner’s attorney, John Summers, asked.

"That's not the word I would have selected," Young said.

Young testified that he reviewed candidates based on the location of Musk's next rally before vetting the people who signed America PAC's petition in support of the First and Second amendments.

"I essentially used the petition like a job application," Young said, with America PAC considering the number of eligible voters that the candidate referred to the petition, their personality and social media history.

According to Young, Musk was notified when a candidate was selected. Young also said that winners signed non-disclosure agreements preventing them from talking publicly about their "consulting agreements."

While the testimony contradicts Musk's public statements, Young insisted that the winners "earned" their money by doing work on behalf of the PAC, seemingly supporting the defense argument that the giveaway is not an illegal lottery.

"Anyone who participated in the program knew what they were entitled to for their participation in the program," Young said.

Closing arguments in the hearing will happen after a brief break.

-ABC News' Peter Charalambous