(Texas Public Policy Foundation) – In Part 1, we examined the FBI’s arrests during the first week of June of three Chinese nationals for trying to smuggle alleged pathogens and biological materials into University of Michigan laboratories. Week two of June, FBI Director Kash Patel declassified a memorandum exposing a 2020 CCP scheme to produce tens of thousands of fraudulent U.S. driver’s licenses, designed to enable illegal voter registrations and mail-in ballots favoring U.S. Presidential candidate Joe Biden (Just the News, June 16, 2025; and Just the News, June 17, 2025).
Here, Part 2 examines Konnech, a Michigan-based election software firm entangled in a 2022 data breach and a now-canceled Department of Defense contract, both of which raise concerns about CCP influence and U.S. security policies.
Konnech’s unchecked penetration into federal and state government underscore the urgent need to safeguard our electoral integrity and homeland against foreign encroachment. Michigan, as a critical swing state, is particularly vulnerable, as registrants may sign up online using a driver’s license or last four digits of a Social Security number, the voter rolls are inaccurate and bloated, and citizenship and residency checks are, at best, ineffective.
Konnech’s Michigan Operations: A Breach of Trust
Konnech Corporation, based in East Lansing, Michigan, created PollChief, a platform to manage poll worker schedules, training, payroll, and communications. Detroit contracted Konnech for $320,000 until October 2022, after Los Angeles County authorities arrested Konnech’s CEO, Eugene Yu, for allegedly stealing poll worker data and storing it on servers in China (AP, CEO of election software firm held on ID info theft charges).
Detroit canceled its contract with Konnech, and Janice Winfrey, Detroit City Clerk, assured residents that local poll worker data remained secure.
Konnech’s role focused exclusively on poll worker hiring and administration, so it had access to all these employees’ personally identifiable information (PII).
The breach compels a person to wonder: If a foreign power gains access to the protected PII of election administrators—their names, home addresses, and Social Security numbers—what leverage might it wield?
The sanctity of our elections depends on the inviolability of those who uphold them.
The Canceled DoD Contract: A Persistent Warning Ignored?
Konnech’s troubles extend beyond civilian elections. In 2016, under the Obama administration, the Department of Defense awarded Konnech a $1,998,999 contract to provide electronic voting services for U.S. military personnel and citizens overseas. Konnech’s role? To facilitate absentee-ballot voting through the Federal Voting Assistance Program (Michigan Fair Elections Institute, Oct. 14, 2022).
The DoD contract relied on Konnech’s software, hosted on servers in China and managed by Chinese contractors, raising immediate security concerns. Three years later in 2019, the DoD canceled the contract, citing risks of foreign access to sensitive voter data and potential CCP exploitation (Western Montana News, Oct. 18, 2022).
Even so, the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, a public-private partnership agency with close ties to Michigan’s Governor and the state Executive Branch, supported Konnech with a $306,000 grant in 2021.
Montana legislators, alarmed at the DoD revelations, brought to light the state’s $2.9 million contract ties to servers in China and Chinese contractors. They urged their Attorney General to halt Konnech’s voting software pending investigation.
Other jurisdictions, such as DeKalb County, Georgia, persisted in using Konnech on condition the firm house its data on Georgia servers (Georgia Record, Oct. 5, 2022).
But former CIA officer Sam Faddis warned that Konnech’s “superadministration” access for Chinese contractors risked spyware or data theft (Natural News, Oct. 11, 2022). Superadministration, super admin, provides a user with the highest level of administrative privileges within a system.
In addition, Konnech’s subsidiary, Jinhua Yulian, developed election software for Chinese authorities until 2021 and sought government contracts in 2018 with links to Jinhua Hongzheng, a Huawei affiliate (KanekoaTheGreat, June 2, 2025). The U.S., citing national security concerns, has banned or restricted the sale and use of Huawei’s telecommunications equipment and devices.
In November 2022, Los Angeles County dismissed charges against Konnech’s President Yu, citing “potential bias,” and paid Konnech a $5 million settlement for reputational harm (Reuters, Nov. 10, 2022).
Lessons Learned
The DoD’s decision to terminate Konnech’s contract, plus Detroit’s and other contract cancelations, serve as a wakeup call, underscoring the need for more rigorous oversight of election technology providers and our elections processes. Konnech’s state and federal connections amplify concerns about foreign access to election systems and personnel, particularly in Michigan, where Konnech was headquartered.
The 2020 Fake License Scheme
“The FBI has located documents which detail alarming allegations related to the 2020 U.S. election, including allegations of interference by the CCP,” wrote FBI Director Patel , referring to the Chinese Communist Party. “I have immediately declassified the material and turned the documents over to the Chairman Grassley for further review.”
The declassified FBI memorandum (FBI-SJC-IIR-000002), released on June 16, 2025, disclosed a chilling allegation: In August 2020, the CCP allegedly manufactured fraudulent U.S. driver’s licenses, using names and identification numbers sourced from TikTok, to create voter identities for Chinese students and immigrants loyal to the CCP (Just the News, June 17, 2025).
The plot aimed to produce “tens of thousands” of illegal mail-in ballots for Biden. The U.S. Customs and Border Protection intercepted nearly 20,000 counterfeit driver’s licenses, adding power to the allegations. Then the FBI, under the Biden administration’s Department of Justice, suspended the investigation, citing an unverified source with indirect access and raising doubts about the data’s origin.
Foreigner voting
In 2023, U.S. Congressman John Moolenaar (R) urged Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson to “fortify our elections against CCP intrusion” House Select Committee, June 12, 2023.
The issue came to a head after the 2024 Presidential Election when Haoxiang Gao, a Chinese student at the University of Michigan, voted illegally using his student ID.
Even more disturbing, the fraudulent foreigner vote of Gao was detected only after he self-reported that he had voted (Justice.gov, June 3, 2025). Public pressure prompted the Michigan Secretary of State to conduct a review in 2025, and Secretary Benson identified 15 additional noncitizen votes. Michigan.gov, April 2, 2025. She provided no details as to the depth or comprehensiveness of her department’s review.
Michigan’s Electoral Vulnerabilities
Michigan’s electoral system falters under structural weaknesses. Bloated voter rolls, shifting voter histories, biased and lax oversight—all create opportunities for fraud. See MFEI original articles:
· Xiong Sings Benson’s Favorite Song (WATCH!)
· Michigan Municipal Hiring Practices under Scrutiny for Political Imbalance and Transparency Issues
· Benson’s Staff Scrambles to Count MI’s Noncitizen Voters
· Trump’s National Security Emergency Investigation Into Election Fraud Is Ongoing
· Our Voices Were Heard: President Trump’s Executive Order 14248 and the Future of the Election Integrity Movement
· Is Cleaning the Voter Rolls Undervalued?
· Clean Voter Rolls Critical to Local Elections
· Dead Woman Walking … and Voting. How volunteers are helping clean up Michigan’s Voter Rolls
The Path Forward
The bioweapons arrests and the FBI memorandum about fake driver’s licenses, the foreigner voting and Konnech’s breach—all indicate a CCP strategy to undermine U.S. society and elections. In addition, the state and federally supported grants and contracts with a firm connected to a foreign adversary suggest a widespread pattern of inadequate safeguards.
Now, under Trump’s Presidential Order 14248, the federal government is providing free database assistance to elections officials, so the issue of foreign voters can readily be addressed–if our elected officials have the will to do so.