Rep. Jim Himes (D-Conn.), the ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, has a simple message about election security ahead of the November 3 midterms: the paper trail is your friend.
Speaking Wednesday on MS NOW's Morning Joe, Himes laid out the math. "Forty-nine of the 50 states have paper records of the ballots, right?" he said. "Except for Louisiana, every other state in the union has a paper backup."
Then came the hypothetical. "So, let's just imagine that Elon Musk or whoever can pull off something they've never pulled off before and get in and change the vote totals, it would be relatively easy to go back and check that against the actual paper ballot," Himes said.
To be clear, the congressman was not accusing Musk of anything. He was sketching out a threat scenario, and he emphasized that authorities have never documented a successful hack of election technology that actually altered results.
Why Paper Matters
The U.S. Election Assistance Commission confirmed in May 2025 that more than 98% of election jurisdictions use systems that produce paper voting records. The agency recommends auditable systems precisely because officials can compare physical ballots against electronic totals.
That is the whole point of the paper backup. If someone messes with the digital count, you can go back to the physical ballots and check. It is not glamorous, but it works.
Musk's Money Keeps Making Headlines
Himes' remarks land as Musk commits substantial resources to Republican campaigns. Reuters reported earlier this month that Musk contributed approximately $366 million during the election cycle, including $276 million since July. More recent figures cited by Politico last week place his midterm spending above $442 million.
Musk has also supported Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's Senate campaign, while Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) has criticized the billionaire's electoral influence.
No Interference Found, But Watch the Disinformation
Himes' comments follow concerns about President Donald Trump's election fraud allegations, which state election officials have repeatedly challenged.
On Tuesday, in a congressional statement, Himes said the intelligence community had found nothing contradicting its assessment that foreign adversaries had not attempted to interfere with voting infrastructure or vote counting. But he warned Americans about disinformation, particularly as artificial intelligence advances.
The Election Assistance Commission, an independent, bipartisan commission of the United States government, also emphasizes post-election audits, which help officials verify electronic counts against ballots. Its guidance notes that auditing practices vary across states, making consistent safeguards important nationwide.
So the takeaway is not that the sky is falling. It is that the paper exists, the audits exist, and the checking exists. Whether everyone trusts that process is a different question, and one that no ballot backup can answer.
