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Hack the Conspiracies: A County Clerk's Defense of Election Integrity

Barb Byrum

Ingham County Clerk Barb Byrum shares a powerful account of defending election workers against death threats, armed protests, and toxic conspiracy theories.

Summary

The Human Toll of Post-Election Conspiracies

Following the 2020 general election, unverified fraud narratives sparked unprecedented hostility, resulting in death threats, armed protests, and harassment targeting local election workers.

Defending Election Workers and Preserving Integrity

Barb Byrum provides an eyewitness account from Michigan, detailing physical security measures enacted to protect county staff, ballot storage facilities, and canvassing boards.

Debunking Voting Machine Myths with Facts

Byrum demonstrates how hands-on public logic and accuracy testing, pre-election audits, and paper ballot trails decisively disprove claims of machine tampering.

A Call for Community and Hacker Alliances

The author urges cybersecurity researchers to partner with local clerks, advocate for election worker safety legislation, and actively counter disinformation.

Related talks

Voting Village·11 min

  • DEF CON
  • Policy
  • Date: Aug 2025
  • Location: Las Vegas

Organizers welcome attendees to the DEF CON 33 Voting Village, introducing the symposium schedule, hands-on hacking labs, and voting machine targets.

voting-machinescommunityelection-integrity+2