Study: Our Elections Are Not “the Most Secure Ever”

Joe Lamberti for The Washington Post via Getty

The Government Accountability Institute (GAI) released its biennial “Top 50 Election Threats” report at the end of October, just days ahead of election day. “None of these threats are hypothetical – each one is documented, and most can be fixed if officials are willing to enforce the laws already on the books,” writes GAI’s vice president Eric Eggers.

GAI’s top concern is the possibility of non-citizen voting, which has come to the fore with hundreds of cases being prosecuted by the DOJ this year. Although it is illegal for non-citizens to vote in federal or state elections under existing law, GAI points out that, as of 2026, 22 local governments in the United States let non-citizens vote. Only 18 states have strong language in their respective constitutions barring noncitizen voting, and more than half of states refuse free federal checks of their voter rolls.

Other election concerns include “smurfing” — laundering large donations by assigning smaller amounts to other people’s names, whether they donated or not (this practice is central to allegations against Democrats’ fundraising platform ActBlue) — and “granny farming,” when bad actors fill out ballots for residents of nursing homes and care centers, often without their knowledge or informed consent.

“The problem isn’t one bad actor or one broken election law,” GAI’s executive director of research Seamus Bruner writes in a statement accompanying the study. “It’s a system riddled with vulnerabilities that powerful interests can exploit. Our investigation identifies more than fifty threats – and shows exactly where the safeguards are failing.”

GAI’s report is not proof of actual fraud, but it is an important enumeration of the vulnerabilities that create the potential for fraud.

Gut-Wrenching Jet Crash in Florida

At least nine people died in a disturbing private plane crash in Palm Beach, Florida, not far from Mar-a-Lago. A car’s dash cam caught the dramatic moment of the collision, where the $2 million Learjet nose-dived straight onto pavement and immediately exploded.

Saul Martinez/Getty Images

“It was a cataclysmic plane crash,” Governor Ron DeSantis said of the incident. “It looked like a missile going down and left a big crater on the side of the road.”

The craft’s co-pilot was a 20-year-old woman named Nathalia Gadelha Filgueiras. She had earned her pilot’s license while just 17 and still in high school. As the Learjet began its horrific descent, Filgueiras is heard on the radio calling in a mayday to air traffic control. Her last words were: “We are descending 22,000 feet, and we are banking 60 degrees. We’re out of time.” In the background, Jeff Gregory the pilot, can be heard praying the Lord’s Prayer.

According to Filgueiras' stepfather, she sent a text to her boyfriend about ten minutes before the crash: "I've got turbulence, I've got ice."

Investigators have not yet determined a cause for the crash. Fortunately, at least for the moment, there are no reports of anyone on the ground being hurt.

Democrats’ Closing Message: We Hate Haley Stevens!

Democrats began lighting their hair on fire yesterday when Rep. Haley Stevens, who narrowly lost to Abdul El-Sayed in the Michigan Senate primary, went rogue and switched her endorsement from El-Sayed to Republican candidate Mike Rogers. Her House colleagues say Stevens insisted she was still on Team Abdul just one night before her shocking about-face in the competitive Senate race.

Stevens’ turn came after a PAC associated with far-left podcaster Cenk Uygur put out an ad blaming Israel for grocery prices in the U.S. (the tens of billions spent on the Iran war and foreign aid to Israel accounts for less than 1% of the federal government’s $7+ trillion in annual spending), echoing El-Sayed’s rhetoric throughout his campaign. Uygur is, of course, the uncle of America-hating 9/11 apologist Hasan Piker — who got his first taste of online influence with a job at Uygur’s YouTube channel, “The Young Turks,” and campaigned with El-Sayed during the Michigan primary.

Katie McTiernan/Anadolu via Getty Images

The nominee’s tepid rebuke of the ad apparently turned off Stevens, and El-Sayed only doubled down on hostility toward her. “We can’t stand with hate, and we can’t stand with Hasan Piker,” the House Democrat said in a press conference alongside Rogers.

Both pundits and elected officials sharpened their rhetorical knives for an all-day Haley Stevens flaying session:

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer remarked: “This is a despicable betrayal.”
Outgoing Rep. Nancy Pelosi posted: “Haley Stevens has chosen to dangerously betray Michigan families’ healthcare, freedoms and future” (Pelosi had her own moment of scandal for trashing the nominee days before Stevens turned on him. Don’t be surprised if we later learn Pelosi was doing her thing behind the scenes.)
Rep. Debbie Dingell opted for pity over vitriol: “I can’t tell you how sad I am… It was just painful to watch.”
State Senator Mallory McMorrow, who dropped out of the primary to give Stevens a better chance against El-Sayed, sniped at Stevens’ character: “This is how she operates behind the scenes. If she doesn’t get her way, she threatens people.”
Strategist James Carville got nasty in his message directed at the 43-year-old woman: He suggested that despite her cross-party endorsement, Republicans will still value her the same as a “used condom.” But he was quick to add, “The Democrats don’t even think you’re worth a used condom.” Maybe, upon further reflection, he’ll tell us how he really feels.
Former Daily Beast columnist Wajahat Ali vowed a “reckoning” for “pro-Israel Dems,” whether El-Sayed wins or loses, after Stevens dropped her bomb on the race. “The fire will rise. It’s over.”

At a rally Sunday evening, President Donald Trump called Stevens “very brave” and mused, “I’d love her to join the Republican Party, actually. I think that could happen.”