Days before significant midterm elections, the Potter County Republican Party and its chairman Daniel Rogers filed a lawsuit in federal court requesting that a judge prevent certification of Texas election results. The legal action, filed on Tuesday, asserts that artificial intelligence or malicious actors could interfere with balloting scheduled for the following Tuesday.
The plaintiffs are seeking a complete hand recount of all ballots across every precinct in Texas prior to certification. Their complaint alleges that voting machines contain components manufactured in China that could potentially be manipulated. According to the lawsuit, such tampering during manufacturing could create vulnerabilities allowing hackers to conduct coordinated attacks across multiple election machines and jurisdictions. The filing notes that adversaries including China, Iran, and Russia possess capabilities to access election systems.
The complaint acknowledges that no previous election in Potter County has been altered by third parties, but argues that the emergence of advanced artificial intelligence programs creates new risks. The plaintiffs contend that while Texas law already requires hand-count audits when electronic tabulators are used, these measures are insufficient unless election officials conduct a complete hand count of all paper records and ballots across all precincts.
The legal challenge emerges amid polling data indicating a closely contested US Senate race in Texas. The case arrives as the US Department of Justice recently took similar action in Alaska, seeking to block election certification based on voter confusion concerns regarding a candidate. A spokesperson for Texas’s Secretary of State’s office declined to comment on the lawsuit.
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