San Juan, Puerto Rico — The Office of the Director of National Intelligence seized electronic voting machines from Puerto Rico last spring as part of a federal investigation into the 2020 election, according to a report confirmed this week by federal officials. The operation, overseen by National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard, was disclosed in a Reuters report and followed what officials described as “extremely concerning” cybersecurity and operational issues with the island’s voting systems.
In a statement to CNN, ODNI said the federal government facilitated the voluntary transfer of voting hardware and software for analysis. Officials said the move was prompted by publicly reported allegations of discrepancies and systemic anomalies in Puerto Rico’s electronic voting systems. Participants in the operation included the U.S. attorney’s office in Puerto Rico, Homeland Security Investigations, and an FBI supervisory special agent.
The seizure drew swift criticism from Democratic lawmakers, who argued that domestic election administration falls outside the intelligence community’s lawful jurisdiction absent evidence of foreign interference. Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia said ODNI’s own assessment acknowledged no foreign nexus, raising concerns about the use of intelligence authorities in domestic election matters.
The disclosure comes days after Gabbard appeared at an FBI raid of an election facility in Fulton County, Georgia, and later facilitated a call between President Donald Trump and federal agents involved. Trump publicly praised Gabbard’s role, saying she was working to secure elections. Federal officials have not identified any findings from the Puerto Rico review, and ODNI has not released a timeline for its analysis.
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