The basic input output system (BIOS) firmware in voting machines is rewritten in China.
Posted by Ask Dr. Drew, Checked
- Sources
- 5 contradict1 support
- Said
- 1 time·
- Confidence
- 70%
Ask Dr. DrewOct 21, 2026
The claim that voting-machine BIOS firmware is rewritten in China is an allegation of specific tampering that authoritative sources reject. Chinese-made components are documented, but Reuters, PolitiFact, Votebeat, and the UW rumor rundown report no evidence that machines were hacked or that firmware or votes were altered by foreign actors, and none of the sources mention BIOS rewriting specifically.
A guest makes this claim. Listeners heard it, so it counts against the post, and on the guest's own record.
This claim is about the present, so it is judged as of the day it was checked.
What was said
… It's like the frontal lobe of your brain. That motherboard comes from a factory 60 miles outside of Beijing. It gets to Taiwan, in another warehouse, there's a switcheroo. It ends up as the core system, and the Chinese even have a chance they and the chance to and they do rewrite the basic input output system, called the IOC. Is the firmware. Without being too geeky, between the software and the hardware, there's the firmware, like the very basic foundational software that is rewritten in China. …
Ask Dr. Drew · · from the transcriptPost →What we found
Contradicts. Reuters reports that repeated investigations and lawsuits since 2020 have produced no evidence that Dominion machines were hacked, and describes the foreign-code theory as debunked.[1]
Contradicts. PolitiFact and Votebeat report there is no evidence that foreign adversaries have attempted to tamper with voting machines or deliberately switch votes, and Votebeat says none of the investigations found deliberate vote switching.[2][4]
Contradicts. The UW rumor rundown identifies the DHS parts report as a source of false rumors about foreign election interference, and Lawfare notes the DHS cited no intrusion, exploit, or altered vote.[3][5]
Supports. Lawfare and Route Fifty confirm that voting machines and their vendors use Chinese-made components, so the presence of foreign parts is documented.[5][6]
Context. The post's claim comes from the claimant's own words, which are not evidence; no source addresses rewriting of BIOS or firmware in China specifically.
Sources
6 sources: 2 fact-checkers, 1 primary, 3 not rated
- 1Trump official tried to ban half of US voting machines, citing ...reuters.com · fact-checker · cited for: contradicts
- 2Can foreign adversaries access voting machines?politifact.com · fact-checker · cited for: contradicts
- 3Election Rumor Rundown for October 13: Emerging rumors around voting machines and ‘ballot dumping'cip.uw.edu · primary source · cited for: contradicts
- 4Voting machine problems in the 2026 midterms - Votebeatvotebeat.org · not rated · cited for: contradicts
- 5Laundering Federal Election Interference in the Midtermslawfaremedia.org · not rated · cited for: contradicts, supports
- 6Trump administration stokes concerns about Chinese-made parts in voting equipment, but experts say risks remain lowroute-fifty.com · not rated · cited for: supports
Where this claim was made
Said in 1 published post
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