A declassified CIA report, made public on July 16, alleges that Venezuelan government officials developed both an interest in and likely some capability for manipulating electronic voting systems—including those using Smartmatic technology—to influence election outcomes between 2004 and 2020. The document, titled "Summary of Select Intelligence Reporting From 2004-2020 on Venezuela’s Electronic Voting Manipulation Capabilities," was prepared under the CIA’s deputy director of analysis and is dated June 29, 2026, according to reporting by The Federalist.

The findings outlined in the report have renewed persistent concerns about the security of electronic voting systems and the potential for foreign actors to exploit such technology for political advantage. The CIA note summarizes intelligence indicating that, prior to Venezuela’s 2012 presidential election, intelligence services under then-President Hugo Chavez collaborated with the National Electoral Council and Smartmatic to develop plans for manipulating election results. According to the report, these plans included deploying altered voting machines to approximately 300 centers in pro-Chavez areas, with the goal of ensuring a victory margin of about 1.5 million votes. Chavez ultimately won the election by roughly 1.6 million votes, the report states.

"[S]ources reported that Chavez congratulated his team for successfully implementing the manipulation plan."

— CIA Note, as cited by The Federalist

Despite these claims, the CIA’s baseline assessment of the 2012 Venezuelan election concluded that mass electronic fraud had not occurred. This assessment cited the opposition’s concession and pre-election polling data that showed Chavez leading. However, a separate 2013 "devil’s advocate" analysis by the agency outlined plausible scenarios for undetected, large-scale manipulation, though it did not confirm that such manipulation had actually taken place.

Claims About Smartmatic and U.S. Politics

The declassified CIA note also references intelligence from April 2004 that suggested Chavez sought to prevent the reelection of a sitting U.S. president, indicating an intent to influence U.S. domestic politics. The document further notes that Smartmatic directors reportedly held credentials from Venezuelan intelligence services.

Following the 2020 U.S. presidential election, attorney Sidney Powell, who represented former President Donald Trump, posted an affidavit on X (formerly Twitter) alleging that Smartmatic’s voting systems could change votes without detection, supposedly at Chavez’s insistence. The New York Times reported on these claims, describing them as conspiratorial and lacking substantiation.

In response to the allegations, Smartmatic filed defamation lawsuits against Fox News and Newsmax, asserting that commentators on both networks had raised unsubstantiated concerns about the company’s voting systems. NBC News later reported that Newsmax settled with Smartmatic for $40 million.

In 2024, a federal grand jury indicted Smartmatic executives on charges related to an alleged bribery and money laundering scheme. Nearly a year later, Smartmatic itself was indicted by a federal grand jury in Miami for allegedly bribing a Philippine official in connection with the 2016 Philippine national elections, according to The Federalist.

Broader Context on Voting Technology

Smartmatic vote counting machines have been used in elections internationally, including in the Philippines. A 2022 Wikimedia Commons entry documents a demonstration of the technology in Marikina, illustrating the global reach of Smartmatic’s systems. The company’s ongoing legal challenges and the deployment of its technology have fueled debate over the security, transparency, and oversight of electronic voting systems worldwide.

The release of the CIA report comes amid heightened scrutiny of election technology providers and renewed calls for transparency in both domestic and foreign elections. As of this writing, Smartmatic has not publicly addressed the latest CIA findings, and the company’s legal representatives did not respond to requests for comment from The Federalist.

The Bottom Line

  • The CIA report alleges Venezuelan officials developed capabilities to manipulate Smartmatic voting machines between 2004 and 2020.
  • Smartmatic executives and the company face federal indictments in the U.S. for alleged bribery and money laundering schemes.
  • Smartmatic has not responded to the newly declassified CIA findings on election manipulation capabilities.