Russian Interference in the American Elections

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Table of Contents

Executive Summary
Background
Interference in 2016
Interference in 2020
Challenges
Recommendations
Bibliography
Footnotes

Executive Summary

The United States has come under attack by the Russian government and other foreign nations trying to interfere with U.S. electoral process. The main aim of these attacks is to support a particular presidential candidate, thereby denying Americans their right to elect the leader they prefer. Interfering in the elections directly attacks the country’s democracy as citizens loose trust in the electoral process. The essay concentrates on Russia’s involvement in meddling with the 2016 and 2020 U.S. presidential elections. Several Russian organizations were implicated during the 2016 presidential race, even though officials from Russia deny involvement. Russia’s meddling in the 2016 elections aimed to undermine Clinton’s candidacy since they considered Clinton’s policies would be anti-Russia. Fortunately, the Federal Bureau of Intelligence (F.B.I) convicted some Russian citizens in connection with alleged meddling, and they were found guilty of various charges. Russia’s interference in the 2020 elections was low compared to the 2016 presidential race. In 2020, Russian authorities spread misleading information about President Biden to undermine his candidacy.

Background

Over the years, many governments have faced accusations of using different strategies to meddle with elections in foreign countries. Citizens of the affected nations are unaware of the tactics foreign governments employ and get to influence the polls. On the other hand, the assertion that the Russian administration meddled in the 2016 and 2020 presidential U.S. elections has aroused worldwide controversy.¹ Some argue that it harmed the democratic structure in the United States. Russian activity heralded a new age of international influence.

Consequently, multiple U.S. intelligence and security services have confidently asserted that Russia’s electoral meddling had particular objectives. The goal of Russia was to sabotage the American citizen’s trust in their democratic system.² There is a good chance the charges were genuine, given the collaboration of numerous security organizations, including the C.I.A., F.B.I., and the National Security Agency. Furthermore, the Trump administration indicated that other nations, individuals, and Russia were involved in compromising U.S. election systems in other states.

Interference in 2016

Even while Russian officials assert that their country did not tamper with the 2016 presidential election in the United States, security assessments show that several Russian organizations were implicated. According to an N.S.A. investigation, Russia attempted to sabotage the 2016 presidential election in the United States.³ Furthermore, Russia engaged in a vast spectrum of acts that suggest it was among the primary nations attempting to sabotage the 2016 presidential elections in the United States.⁴ Overt activities by Russian federal bureaus, remunerated online trolls, covert operations, and state-backed mainstream press, including cyber-attack operations undertaken by Russian intelligence operatives, are some of the activities that confirm it meddled with the democratic polling system of the U.S.

Russia attempted to undermine Clinton’s presidential candidacy by using state-funded press outlets such as television channels, radio stations, and the internet. In addition, Russia influenced the operation using social media platforms, including Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube.⁵ Russia had eventual aims in the U.S. 2016 elections as a product of its engagement in operation. Since developing technologies were used to influence the 2016 polls, American secret services could track Russian operations, leading the American public to assume that Russia was attempting to sabotage the election.⁶ Nonetheless, there are two primary explanations for why Russia was considered to meddle in the 2016 American election,⁷ including causing the American people to lose trust in national electoral processes and causing discontent with Clinton’s candidacy because she was a member of the Democratic Party.

The U.S. intelligence services accumulated pertinent information that shows Russia had strong participation in the 2016 U.S. election well before the campaigns began. Hackers from Russia attempted to access important U.S. agencies, including the White House and the State Department, using simple approaches like mailing out spam scams before the electoral period.⁸ Since the hack on John Podesta’s email, Russia has monitored much of Hillary Clinton’s movements throughout her campaigns using these basic methods.⁹ As campaign chairman, Podesta discovered a shady email that gave Moscow entry to many Democratic Party information. The Russian administration used these data to paint a negative image of Hillary Clinton, with the majority of the messages made public through internet sites.¹⁰ Due to the apparent press power, specific individuals had concerns about Clinton becoming the first woman president of the United States, which considerably affected her candidacy.

In addition, several Russian citizens were accused of breaking the law by allegedly interfering with the election process. The F.B.I. has convicted about thirteen Russian citizens in connection with alleged meddling in the 2016 presidential race in the United States.¹¹ Despite Donald Trump’s claims that he did not collude with the Russian authorities to harm Clinton’s campaign, many Democrats disagree.¹² Russia has eroded many Americans’ trusts in their democratic system because some Clinton followers think the outcomes were not genuine. The thirteen accused were declared guilty of a variety of charges.

Interference in 2020

According to an investigation by the United States intelligence community, Russia attempted to aid previous President, Donald Trump, in the 2020 presidential race. However, the letter did highlight that there was no evidence that Russia or any foreign government managed to tamper with actual results.¹³ Russian President Vladimir Putin has given the go-ahead for discrediting Joe Biden’s campaign and the Democratic Party. The Russian government is thought to be helping Trump, weakening public trust in the voting process and deepening socio-political differences in the United States.¹⁴ The declassified report is the most extensive analysis of foreign meddling in the 2020 presidential election that the intelligence agencies have revealed.

Russia intended Trump to emerge victoriously, but not to the extent that it did within the 2016 presidential election. Through associates of previous President Trump and his government, Russia attempted to spread false or unverified claims about then-candidate Joe Biden in the 2020 U.S. presidential election.¹⁵ The declassified study confirms that Trump’s associates aided Moscow by spreading charges leveled against Biden through Russian-linked Ukrainian officials in the run-up to the November election.¹⁶ Additional efforts to affect voters were discovered by U.S. intelligence services, notably Iran’s multi-pronged covert propaganda operation to undermine Trump’s popularity. The investigation also debunks Trump’s supporters’ counter-narrative that China influenced Biden’s account, determining that Beijing did not engage in such activity.

China desired stability in its ties with the United States, and neither electoral outcome appeared to be favorable sufficient for China to incur negative consequences if detected. As per the intelligence agencies, there was no technological tampering with voter identification, polling, or ballot counting in the 2020 presidential election.¹⁷ Furthermore, contrary to 2016, the authorities discovered that Russia did not endeavor to cyber-hack the electoral equipment, which is a significant variance.¹⁸ Officials from the United States reported they witnessed efforts by Cuba, the Lebanese group Hezbollah, and Venezuela to manipulate the election. They were on a lesser level than those carried out by Iran and Russia.

Following Russia’s election meddling in 2016, the U.S. intelligence community stepped up its operations to avoid a repetition. Andrii Derkach, a Ukrainian politician, was mentioned by U.S. intelligence authorities as an individual who performed a crucial part in Russia’s election meddling actions. Derkach is connected to Russian leaders and the Russian intelligence agencies.¹⁹ Moreover, Derkach has communicated with Trump’s previous legal representative in subsequent years, who had propagated unfounded charges concerning Biden’s activities in Ukraine while Biden was vice president in Obama’s administration.

According to the intelligence analysis, despite considering several of his government’s initiatives as anti-Russian, Russian authorities wanted previous President Trump to win re-election. Konstantin Kilimnik, a man with Russian government links, served a crucial role. Kilimnik and Derkach spoke with Trump associates and handed them data to the press for official investigations.²⁰ Derkach produced four-voice recordings claiming Biden sought to shield his son, Hunter, from a fraud case in Ukraine. Giuliani was one of the proponents of such allegations.²¹ Kilimnik was a business partner of Paul Manafort, Trump’s election manager, in 2016. Trump cleared Manafort for a felony violation that stemmed from an inquiry.

Challenges

Presidential elections are a significant event in American democracy, allowing for a smooth transition in the composition of the country’s top decision-makers and its internal alliances. They frequently result in substantial changes in the nation’s internal and foreign policy and an increase in the likelihood of local and diplomatic war. The goal of Russia’s intervention in the U.S. presidential race was to promote a particular candidate or political party, which may have influenced electoral outcomes.²² They intervened in various ways, from supplying financing to their favorite candidate’s campaign to spreading propaganda and misinformation against the other candidate.

The Russian government attempted to hack the polling devices in the United States, which would favor Trump’s win against Clinton in the 2016 presidential election. During the 2020 election, Russian authorities spread misleading information about Biden, claiming that he interfered and attempted to shield the son from a corruption case.²³ The propaganda against President Biden might have affected his campaigns during the November 2020 presidential race because some supporters believed in the false information and likely backed Trump’s presidency.²⁴ Foreign countries meddling in U.S.A. elections have significant negative impacts on democracy as citizens loose trust in the electoral process.

Recommendations

Foreign intervention may regularly inflict substantial harm to the intended nation, and polling results in the intervener’s favor. Although there is no mechanism to prevent or discourage overseas countries from interfering in elections, authorities in the United States may considerably lower the chances that such involvement will impact election outcomes.²⁵ Raising the legal punishment for cooperation, encouraging public enlightenment on the problem, restricting the usage of electronic casting or tallying in polls, and outlawing the employment of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin for campaigns fundraising.

The United States’ democracy should take steps to limit the possibilities that interveners will succeed in putting or retaining their favorite candidate or party in power. These are the scenarios in which the target is more prone to suffer short- and medium-term damage. Any local player who intentionally collaborates with an interfering foreign government should face harsher legal consequences. Domestic individuals’ collaboration with a foreign nation aiming to sway a national election should be defined as a separate felony with a maximum punishment comparable to espionage.

Bibliography

Badawy, Adam, Ferrara, Emilio, & Lerman, Kristina. “Analyzing the Digital Traces of Political Manipulation: The 2016 Russian Interference Twitter Campaign.”International Conference on Advances in Social Network and Mining, (2018): 28-31.

Baines, Paul, & Jones, Nigel. “Influence and Interference in Foreign Elections.”The RUSI Journal 163, no. 1 (2018): 12-19.

“Russian Interference in 2016 U.S. Elections.”FBI, 2018.

“Government Agencies and Private Companies Undertake Actions to Limit the Impact of Foreign Influence in the 2020 U.S. Election.”American Journal of International Law 115, no. 2 (2021): 309-317.

Haines, D. N. I. “Foreign Threats to the 2020 US Federal Elections.” Intelligence Community Assessment, (2021): 1-10. ICA 2020-00078D

Jedidiah, Blake. “Russian Interference in U.S. Elections: How to protect critical election infrastructure from foreign participation.”Public Contract Law Journal 49, no. 4 (2020): 709-734.

Mueller, Robert, S. “Report on the Investigation into Russian Interference in the 2016 Presidential Election.”U.S. Department of Justice 1, (2017).

Ohlin, Jens, David. “Did Russia Cyber Interference in the 2016 Election Violate International Law.” 95 Tex. L. Rev 1579, (2017): 1-20. Web.

“Report of the Select Committee on Intelligence on Russian Active Measures Campaigns and Interference in the 2016 U.S. Election.” Counterintelligence Threats and Vulnerabilities 5, (2017): 498-524. Web.

Sarpong, Rex, Osei. “US 2020 Elections: Russia and the Electoral College.”SSRN, (2022): 1-6.

Ziegler, Charles, E. “International Dimensions of Electoral Processes: Russia, the USA, and the 2016 Elections.”International Politics 55, no. 7 (2018): 557-574.

Footnotes

Paul Baines and Nigel Jones. “Influence and Interference in Foreign Elections.” The RUSI Journal 163, no. 1 (2018), 12.
Charles E. Ziegler. “International Dimensions of Electoral Processes: Russia, the USA, and the 2016 Elections.” International Politics 55, no. 7 (2018), 558.
Ziegler, 560.
“Russian Interference in 2016 U.S. Elections.” FBI, 2018.
Ferrara Badawy, Emilio Adam, and Kristina Lerman. “Analyzing the Digital Traces of Political Manipulation: The 2016 Russian Interference Twitter Campaign.” International Conference on Advances in Social Network and Mining, (2018), 29.
Robert S. Mueller. “Report on the Investigation into Russian Interference in the 2016 Presidential Election.” U.S. Department of Justice 1, (2017).
“Russian Interference in 2016 U.S. elections.”
“Report Of the Select Committee on Intelligence on Russian Active Measures Campaigns and Interference in the 2016 U.S. Election.” Counterintelligence Threats and Vulnerabilities 5, (2017), 511.
David Jens Ohlin. “Did Russia Cyber Interference in the 2016 Election Violate International Law.” 95 Tex. L. Rev 1579, (2017), 8.
Blake Jedidiah. “Russian Interference in U.S. Elections: How to protect critical election infrastructure from foreign participation.” Public Contract Law Journal 49, no. 4 (2020), 714.
Jedidiah, 721.
Ohlin, 15.
D. N. Haines. “Foreign Threats to the 2020 US Federal Elections.” Intelligence Community Assessment, (2021), 3.
Haines, 4.
Osei Rex Sarpong. “US 2020 Elections: Russia and the Electoral College.” SSRN, (2022), 4.
Sarpong, 5.
Haines, 6.
“Government Agencies and Private Companies Undertake Actions to Limit the Impact of Foreign Influence in the 2020 U.S. Election.” American Journal of International Law 115, no. 2 (2021), 310.
“Government Agencies and Private Companies,” 314.
Baines and Jones, 16.
Haines, 8.
Baines and Jones, 13.
Sarpong, 4.
Sarpong, 6.
Baines and Jones, 18.

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