Starlink system is not connected to voting machines, Tulare County Elections Office says

TULARE COUNTY, Calif. (KFSN) -- An Action News interrogation past week was circulated online and has been seen by millions connected TikTok, Instagram, and different societal platforms.

That led to online conspiracy theories that Starlink Owner & CEO Elon Musk could person utilized the strategy to alteration votes oregon different interfere with the election. Musk is simply a large protagonist of President-Elect Donald Trump.

We took that interest to Tulare County and asked them if Starlink was connected to voting machines connected Election Day. Tulare County says votes are ne'er transmitted implicit the internet, nary substance the work provider.

"In California. It's really amerciable for immoderate portion of the voting strategy to beryllium connected to the internet. As such, our voting strategy operates wrong a afloat air-gapped environment. Meaning it's wholly isolated from the net and immoderate different network," said Stephanie Hill, the systems and procedures expert for Tulare County Registrar of Voters.

She says Starlink was utilized to supply the net to their laptops and link to their database, allowing them to cheque voters successful oregon cheque their registration presumption and thing else.

"Those voting check-in laptops are successful nary mode connected to the voting system. No mode connected to the vote, tabulation oregon voting process different than making definite that that elector is simply a registered elector wrong our county," explained Hill.

Hill says that arsenic these conspiracy theories spread, they received calls from crossed the federation and different parts of the world, including the B-B-C.

The registrar says they tally a transparent, secure, and legally compliant voting process.

"We anticipation that offering this further accusation and clarifying that this Starlink strategy is successful nary way, shape, oregon signifier connected to our voting strategy volition assistance enactment voters' minds astatine easiness truthful their ballot was tabulated successful the mode that they voted. In nary way, shape, oregon signifier did we ever usage thing with a Starlink transportation to beryllium associated with oregon connected to our voting system," mentioned Hill.

They besides invitation anyone with questions to sojourn their bureau and person a behind-the-scenes look astatine however everything runs from opening to end.

All counties successful California volition certify the predetermination connected December 3rd.

For quality updates, travel Kassandra Gutierrez connected Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.