Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin’s warning that Chinese-made parts in America’s voting machines could open a door to foreign adversaries is drawing renewed attention as the midterms approach. So is his department’s move to tie election-security grants to hand counts of paper ballots.

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From The National Pulse:

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Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Markwayne Mullin has formally warned that the electronic voting systems that dominate U.S. elections rely on components manufactured in China, creating supply chain vulnerabilities that foreign adversaries could exploit.

The August 24, 2026 letter to the White House Transparency Task Force underscores a long-recognized hardware problem now tied directly to midterm election security under the Trump administration.

Mullin wrote that “voting machines with components manufactured by foreign adversaries introduce significant security risks.” He explained that “malicious actors could potentially compromise election infrastructure at any stage of the supply chain, even before the machines are assembled or deployed. If a component is tampered with during manufacturing, it could serve as a point-of-entry for hackers, allowing for the possibility of synchronized attacks across multiple machines and jurisdictions.”

Mullin’s letter notes that three vendors, ES&S, Hart InterCivic, and Dominion, control more than 80 percent of the U.S. market. In congressional testimony, representatives of the companies have acknowledged that some components cannot practically be sourced anywhere but China. The letter also cites intelligence assessments, including the 2024 ODNI Annual Threat Assessment, which called China “the most active and persistent cyber threat” to U.S. government, private-sector, and critical infrastructure networks.

The hardware concern adds to software flaws researchers have already documented. A 2021 report by University of Michigan professor Alex Halderman and colleague Drew Springall found that attackers with brief physical access to Dominion’s ImageCast X devices, used in Georgia and other states, could install malware and alter votes in ways that audits might not detect. Georgia officials largely dismissed the findings, but other computer scientists said the vulnerabilities were real and needed to be fixed.

DHS’s answer is a “trust but verify” condition. To receive full Homeland Security Grant Program awards, states must show they have conducted random post-election manual counts of paper ballots, a human check on the machine totals. With Election Day on November 3, that safeguard will matter in every state relying on electronic equipment.

Scripture says, “A false balance is an abomination to the Lord, but a just weight is his delight” (Proverbs 11:1). Let’s pray that every legitimate vote will be counted accurately, that any vulnerability in our voting equipment will be exposed and corrected, and that election officials will carry out their work with integrity. Let’s also pray for Secretary Mullin and state leaders to act with wisdom, so Americans can cast their ballots with confidence.

Share your prayers and scriptures for honest, secure elections in the comments.

(Excerpt from The National Pulse. Photo Credit: DHS photo by Tia Dufour)