2020 election ‘most secure in American history,’ federal election security officials say

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This election cycle was the most secure ever, despite a surge in mail-invoting prompted by the coronavirus pandemic.

A joint statement issued on Thursday by the Elections Infrastructure Government Coordinating Council and the Election Infrastructure Sector Coordinating executive committees said this year’s election marked “the most secure in American history.”

“While we know there are many unfounded claims and opportunities for misinformation about the process of our elections, we can assure you we have the utmost confidence in the security and integrity of our elections, and you should too,” the statement read. “When you have questions, turn to elections officials as trusted voices as they administer elections.”

In regards to recounts and uncalled races, the committees said that it is not unusual for states to recount ballots during close elections – but added that there is no evidence any voting system “deleted or lost votes, changed votes, or was in any way compromised.”

PHILADELPHIA'S TOP GOP ELECTION OFFICIAL PUSHES BACK ON VOTER FRAUD CLAIMS

President Trump has yet to concede to President-elect Joe Biden, and has repeated unfounded claims about fraud and that the election was “rigged.” His campaign has launched a slew of lawsuits throughout different states challenging election processes.

Trump attempted to sow doubt about the security of the mail-in voting process in the run-up to Election Day, since an extraordinary number of absentee and mail-in ballots were expected.

But voter turnout also appears to have hit a multi-decade high.

With votes still being counted, turnout in the 2020 presidential election has already hit a 50-year high, exceeding the record set by the 2008 presidential election of Barack Obama.

As of Sunday, the tallied votes accounted for 62% of the eligible voting-age population in the U.S. That’s a 0.4 percentage point increase so far over the rate hit in 2008.

The sheer number of votes also set records, although that’s a less remarkable milestone given the country’s growing population. So far 148 million votes have been tallied, with Democrat Joe Biden winning more than 75 million — the highest number for a presidential candidate in history. Trump received more than 70 million — the highest total for a losing candidate.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.