Concerns Mount Over Election Security Leadership Amidst Conspiracy Allegations
A significant figure within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) responsible for safeguarding the nation’s election infrastructure, including voting machines, has raised serious concerns among election experts and current and former DHS officials. David Harvilicz, who holds a senior policy role at DHS, has a documented history of promoting skepticism about election integrity and has publicly advocated for the elimination of voting machines.
These concerns are amplified by Harvilicz’s co-founding of a company with James Penrose. Penrose is known for his involvement in developing and promoting conspiracy theories that falsely blamed hacked voting machines for Donald Trump’s defeat in the 2020 presidential election. Furthermore, Penrose was an active participant in efforts to seize voting machines in an attempt to overturn the election results.
Harvilicz’s public statements have been stark. On social media platforms, he has called for the discontinuation of voting machines, describing them as “eminently vulnerable to exploitation.” In a post dated March, he explicitly stated, “DHS needs to ban voting machines for all federal elections. The time is now.” His rhetoric has also frequently questioned the legitimacy of Democratic electoral victories, and he has reportedly pushed for Republican parties to reshape electoral systems to their perceived advantage.
In his top post at the Department of Homeland Security, David Harvilicz sets policy on protecting the nation’s elections infrastructure, including voting machines.
Election authorities, alongside current and former DHS officials, view Harvilicz’s prominent position in overseeing the security of electoral systems and voting machines as particularly troubling. This comes at a time when the current administration is facing criticism for actions that appear to echo and relitigate the unsubstantiated claims of a stolen 2020 election. Examples include the FBI’s seizure of voting records from Fulton County, Georgia, and the involvement of a team connected to the Director of National Intelligence in taking custody of voting machines used in Puerto Rico during the 2020 election.
Danielle Lang, Vice President for Voting Rights and the Rule of Law at the nonpartisan Campaign Legal Center, voiced her apprehension. “The security of our election infrastructure depends on leadership that is trusted, impartial and grounded in evidence — not individuals who have promoted conspiracy theories about the very systems they are now responsible for protecting,” Lang stated. She added, “Placing someone with that background in charge of policies affecting election security can undermine public confidence in our elections at a time when trust is already fragile.”
The DHS has not provided specific details regarding Harvilicz or his team’s activities, opting instead for a general statement. “DHS and its employees are focused on keeping our elections safe, secure, and free,” the statement read. “Every single day appointees at the Department of Homeland Security work to implement the President’s policies and keep our Homeland safe.”
Harvilicz himself has not responded to inquiries about his role at DHS. His social media profile indicates his position as DHS’ Assistant Secretary for Cyber, Infrastructure, Risk and Resilience Policy, while also noting a temporary assignment to the Department of Defense, a common practice typically conducted in 120-day increments.
Appointed to his DHS position around July, Harvilicz assumed a role that historically concentrated on developing policies to protect the nation’s critical infrastructure, including its election systems. However, current and former DHS officials suggest that Harvilicz and his team have shifted towards a more operational approach. They have reportedly been actively involved in facilitating various administration-led data collection initiatives aimed at identifying non-citizens on voter rolls. ProPublica has previously reported on one such initiative, which incorrectly flagged hundreds of citizens as potential non-citizens.
Key Personnel and Their Controversial Affiliations
Harvilicz’s team includes Heather Honey, who serves as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Election Integrity. ProPublica has reported that Honey was previously a leader within the Election Integrity Network, a conservative organisation that has challenged the legitimacy of American election systems. Honey reportedly worked closely with Cleta Mitchell, the network’s leader, who played a significant role in efforts to overturn Trump’s 2020 election loss.
Also reporting directly to Harvilicz is Samantha Anderson, a data specialist who previously worked on Trump’s election campaigns through the advocacy arm of the America First Policy Institute, a think tank closely aligned with the former president.
Several officials and election experts have expressed significant concerns about the prominent roles Harvilicz and Honey are expected to play in assessing and communicating the cybersecurity of upcoming elections to both the public and administration leaders. There is also apprehension that if Trump again seeks to challenge election results, particularly if Republicans face losses in future elections, Harvilicz is strategically positioned to assist in such efforts.
“It would be super easy for them to get the voting machines,” one current DHS official commented, adding that they could “describe it as they want, if they don’t like the results.”
Business Ties and Campaign Contributions
Harvilicz co-founded Tranquility AI, a company that has developed an artificial intelligence tool for law enforcement, alongside James Penrose. Both are listed as developers of the company’s systems on its 2025 patents.
Penrose, a former intelligence officer, was reportedly a key figure in the campaign to overturn the 2020 election results. He also participated in multiple attempts to covertly obtain voting machines, including an incident in Michigan where prosecutors alleged he broke into machines. While Penrose was not charged in that case, reports suggest he was an unindicted co-conspirator in the Georgia prosecution against Trump for alleged election interference.
Penrose has not responded to requests for comment.
The company’s website states that one of the purported uses of Tranquility AI’s product is for “election integrity,” though further details were not provided. The company’s tools, designed to assist law enforcement in data processing and case assembly, have been utilised by the New Orleans’ district attorney and have partnered with numerous law enforcement agencies across the country. In July 2025, a major government IT contractor announced a partnership with Tranquility AI.
Harvilicz’s career began in law and technology sectors before he launched an unsuccessful bid for a congressional seat in Maryland at age 29. He subsequently led a crowdfunding company, a movie marketing business, a film production company that collaborated with former intelligence officers, and several cybersecurity ventures, including one with Penrose. He also served in the first Trump administration as a cybersecurity official at the Department of Energy.
Prior to Harvilicz’s appointment at DHS, Tranquility AI made a $100,000 donation to Trump’s inaugural fund through a newly established nonprofit operating from Harvilicz’s home address, according to The Intercept. Harvilicz reportedly told The Intercept that the donation was intended to facilitate engagement with administration policymakers. The Intercept was the first to report his connection to Penrose in relation to this donation.
Harvilicz has maintained an active presence on social media, sharing a considerable amount of conservative content. Following Trump’s victory in a second presidential term, Harvilicz posted, “We will now dismantle the near communist takeover of America and return her to greatness.”
In 2020, Harvilicz purchased a $3.3 million home near Los Angeles. After the Palisades Fire destroyed the property around the beginning of Trump’s second term, Harvilicz was photographed with his young son on his shoulders, greeting the president’s tour of the disaster area. His son was reportedly holding a picture of a bloodied Trump. At the time, Harvilicz told a Los Angeles Times reporter that he supported Trump making disaster aid conditional on the Democratic state implementing voter ID laws. “I hope he saw us,” Harvilicz was quoted as saying.
