How China stole voter registration from 220 million US citizens, according to declassified materials

Published July 18, 2026 7:00am ET



A cache of declassified intelligence documents released by the Trump administration Thursday night offered bold new details on China’s acquisition of U.S. voter information since 2016, which President Donald Trump called the “largest compromise of election data in history.”

Trump said during his primetime address on Thursday that the People’s Republic of China acquired 220 million U.S. voter files containing names, addresses, phone numbers, political party preferences, and other sensitive information. Shortly after the speech, the White House released to the public dozens of declassified documents containing partially redacted findings, including data showing nearly 278,000 noncitizens who are registered to vote in federal elections and details over a “slow-walked” 2020 FBI investigation in Michigan.

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