Build For Tomorrow 224 Years of Election Hacking
Sep 24, 2020
David Shimer, author and researcher on covert electoral interference, shares a century-long view of how nations meddle in U.S. politics. He traces Russian and Soviet tactics, compares targeted leader picks with systemic subversion, and explains why technology is a tool not the root cause. The conversation focuses on historical patterns, defense strategies, and why treating 2016 as unique is misleading.
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Two Distinct Goals Of Covert Electoral Action
- Covert interference aims at two different goals: picking a friendly leader or changing a country's system of government.
- Shimer labels these 'individual change' and 'systemic change' and shows the US and Russia often pursue different system-level aims.
CIA's Electoral Roots Began In 1948 Italy
- The CIA's first major covert actions included influencing the 1948 Italian election with huge propaganda efforts.
- That campaign set a template for US electoral interventions during the Cold War to counter Soviet influence.
Soviets Directly Approached US Presidential Campaigns
- Soviet diplomats directly offered help to U.S. presidential hopefuls in the 1960s, approaching Adlai Stevenson and Hubert Humphrey.
- The approach mirrors modern contact between foreign operatives and campaigns; both offers were rebuffed or ignored.