White House adviser Kurt Olsen, Trump’s election-security czar, sought to ban voting machines used in over half of U.S. states by pushing the Commerce Department to label their components national-security risks, according to multiple sources. The effort, which advanced to the point of legal review in September 2025, collapsed due to lack of evidence, revealing a broader campaign to undermine state election authority and promote hand-counted paper ballots, a plan critics call dangerous and impractical.
The Plan to Ban Dominion Machines
Olsen, a lawyer tasked with investigating debunked election-rigging claims, aimed to exclude Dominion Voting Systems machines by framing their chips and software as national-security threats, sources told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser. The idea, which emerged during brainstorming sessions with officials, aligned with Trump’s demand for a national system of hand-counted paper ballots. “We have to get to honest elections, we have to go back to paper ballots,” Trump said in February 2025, according to the Daily Beast.
The plan gained traction after Olsen and allies, including Paul McNamara of Tulsi Gabbard’s office and Brian Sikma of the Domestic Policy Council, pressured Commerce Department officials to explore legal grounds for the ban. However, the effort stalled when Olsen’s team failed to provide evidence to support the claims, sources confirmed. “Changing to hand counting would be chaotic,” warned Alex Halderman, a University of Michigan computer science professor, who added that paper ballots could “facilitate cheating.”
Expert Warnings and Reactions
Election-security experts largely dismissed the push for hand-counted ballots, citing risks of human error and fraud. Halderman, who has studied voting systems for decades, emphasized that current machines with auditable paper trails are “less accurate and potentially riskier” than the alternatives. “And it might facilitate cheating,” he said, per the Daily Beast.
The initiative also drew scrutiny from lawmakers. Democratic senators sought to remove Olsen from his post, arguing his actions threatened election integrity. Meanwhile, the Independent noted that the episode reflected a broader Trump administration strategy to encroach on state and local governments’ constitutional authority over elections, a power designed to prevent executive overreach.
The Role of Conspiracy Theories
Olsen’s efforts were rooted in QAnon-linked conspiracy theories, including claims that Venezuela hacked Dominion machines to rig the 2020 election. Reuters reported that the plan to seize voting equipment advanced far enough to prompt Commerce Department officials to examine legal justifications in September 2025. However, the lack of credible evidence doomed the initiative, according to two sources cited by the Star-Advertiser.
The push also intersected with other Trump-aligned efforts, including the GOP’s drive to redraw election districts ahead of the 2026 midterms. These actions, critics argue, reflect a coordinated attempt to tilt the political landscape in favor of Republicans, even as they risk undermining public trust in elections.
Legacy of the Failed Plan
The collapse of Olsen’s bid to ban Dominion machines underscores the challenges of implementing radical election reforms without bipartisan support or technical feasibility. It also highlights the lingering influence of conspiracy theories within Trump’s inner circle, which continue to shape policy debates despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary.
For now, the status quo of electronic voting machines with paper trails remains intact, but the episode has reignited debates about the vulnerabilities of the U.S. electoral system. As the 2026 midterms approach, the tension between federal overreach and state autonomy is likely to remain a central issue, with far-reaching implications for the integrity of American democracy.
