The Hidden Code Behind the 2024 Election Data: Uncovering the Digital Anomalies
Kamala Harris has made history once again, securing victory in the 2024 U.S. presidential election. As the first woman and the first American female to hold the office, her win marks a turning point in American politics. But as the headlines roll in, an important question arises—where exactly is this election data coming from?
Many news outlets, including the Associated Press (AP), declare winners based on their own vote count tracking and analysis. However, it's crucial to understand that the AP does not have direct access to official election data. Instead, they rely on journalists to make their calls.
Where to Find Official Election Results
If you're looking for the real numbers, skip the AP and go straight to the source. Here’s where to check instead:
Your State’s Election Board Website: The most reliable and official election results come from your state’s election office. You can find a full list here: USA.gov Election Offices.
County Election Websites: For a hyper-local breakdown of votes, check with your county election office.
Federal Election Commison FEC.gov
Suspicious Code Found on an Official Government Website?
While checking official sources, some unusual elements in the code of USA.gov, a U.S. government website, have raised eyebrows. Here’s what stands out:
1. Crazy Egg Tracking Script
📌 What’s in the code?
<script type="text/javascript" src="//script.crazyegg.com/pages/scripts/0007/9651.js" async="async"></script>🔍 Why it’s unusual: Crazy Egg is a heatmapping and visitor-tracking tool. While not inherently malicious, it’s strange for an official government site to use it. Federal websites typically rely on first-party analytics (Google Analytics, Adobe Analytics) rather than third-party trackers.
2. Multiple Google Site Verifications
📌 What’s in the code?
<meta name="google-site-verification" content="p7YQsJ1axaK_4XZeFOVM_tVuvS-hu5fUcEFT0vYJfTM"><meta name="google-site-verification" content="QsZz3rz0kvdcs5rSqFjWMkxzQyDuH40vIohA8TYF1JI">🔍 Why it’s unusual: Normally, a site only needs one Google site verification tag. Multiple verification codes could suggest that different entities have tried to claim ownership of the site, which raises questions about access and control.
3. Odd Use of hreflang Attributes
📌 What’s in the code?
<link rel="alternate" hreflang="en" href="https://www.usa.gov/" data-type="conlang">🔍 Why it’s unusual: The attribute data-type="conlang" is odd. “Conlang” refers to constructed languages (like Esperanto or Klingon). This should usually be labeled “natural” or omitted entirely. A minor misconfiguration? Maybe. But still strange.
4. Non-Standard Use of Google Tag Manager (GTM)
📌 What’s in the code?
<script>(function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-W8LW6DB');</script>🔍 Why it’s unusual: GTM (Google Tag Manager) allows dynamic script injection, meaning external code can be added on the fly. Government sites usually use stricter analytics policies to avoid third-party manipulation.
5. External Preconnect to Crazy Egg
📌 What’s in the code?
<link rel="preconnect" href="https://script.crazyegg.com" crossorigin>🔍 Why it’s unusual: Government sites typically avoid external tracking tools, especially ones like Crazy Egg, which are more common on marketing sites.
What Could This Mean?
🔎 Possible Explanations: ✅ Misconfiguration? Maybe some marketing team added Crazy Egg for tracking without realizing it was inappropriate for a .gov site. 🚩 Unauthorized script injection? If this is an official government website, someone shouldn’t be injecting third-party tracking tools without proper oversight. ⚠️ Compromised or spoofed page? If this code appeared on a fake version of USA.gov, it could be an imposter site designed to harvest data.
To verify legitimacy, it would be crucial to check the live page, inspect past versions in web archives, and compare them to trusted sources.
Suspicious Code Found on an Official Government Website? While checking official sources, some unusual elements in the code of Fec.gov, a U.S. government website, have raised eyebrows. Here's why these elements stand out, especially in the context of an official .gov site:
Exposure of API Keys 📌 What’s in the code?
window.API_KEY_PUBLIC = 'IRjQe4zVIY1FY1Q7vsgWL8TX10v4rKFO5vYr5pES';window.API_KEY_PUBLIC_CALENDAR = '28Y8q8XFocq8yhKfBzzhUJXjFj2JHCZzIv4P2KIK';window.CALENDAR_DOWNLOAD_PUBLIC_API_KEY = 'b7bfYblae7LZ1Gcv17aziK6SEUaVfjnA3plrwwx6';🔍 Why it’s unusual: API keys are sensitive credentials, and while these particular keys may be public-facing, exposing them directly in the client-side code is concerning. Government websites typically have stricter security measures in place to protect such credentials, as unauthorized access to these keys could open the door for data misuse or manipulation.
2. Social Media Links for Phishing 📌 What’s in the code?
<li> <div class="i icon--x-twitter"> <a href="https://x.com/fec"><span class="u-visually-hidden">The FEC's Twitter page</span></a> </div></li><li> <div class="i icon--youtube"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/FECTube"><span class="u-visually-hidden">The FEC's YouTube page</span></a></div></li>🔍 Why it’s unusual: While social media presence is common, government websites are traditionally extremely cautious about the possibility of phishing or malicious redirects through compromised social media accounts. The potential for these accounts to be hacked and used for disinformation or phishing is a significant concern, making their integration feel out of place on a trusted government site.
3. Vulnerable Search Input 📌 What’s in the code?
<input id="glossary-search" class="glossary__search js-glossary-search" type="search">🔍 Why it’s unusual: The search input field on a government site should be built with extra care to prevent security vulnerabilities, such as Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) attacks. The fact that it’s not clear whether this field is properly sanitized makes it unusual for a .gov site, as government websites typically undergo more rigorous security audits to avoid vulnerabilities that could expose user data or allow malicious injections.
4. CSRF Token Exposure 📌 What’s in the code?
<input type="hidden" name="csrfmiddlewaretoken" value="i9eoTibCaGRP7do0K0dv1ldErdvLbjByl1Ly05NwJEM7cgSReOSqmdQ1AgAwp30O">🔍 Why it’s unusual: The CSRF token is used to prevent unauthorized actions from being executed on a website in a user’s name. Exposing it in client-side code like this is highly unorthodox for a government website, as such tokens should remain protected to prevent attacks that could manipulate the site's data or perform unwanted actions.
5. Non-Standard Use of Google Tag Manager (GTM) 📌 What’s in the code?
<script>(function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-W8LW6DB');</script>🔍 Why it’s unusual: Google Tag Manager (GTM) is designed to allow the quick insertion of dynamic scripts. While useful in marketing contexts, its use on government websites is highly questionable. Government sites usually stick to more stringent, closed systems for data collection to ensure privacy and security. GTM could potentially open the door for unauthorized third-party tracking and script injections, which is a security risk for sensitive government pages.
Each of these elements stands out because they diverge from the standard, heightened security practices that government websites typically adhere to. Whether it’s data exposure, third-party integrations, or potential vulnerabilities, these unusual features raise significant concerns regarding security and privacy, making them particularly out of place on a trusted .gov domain.
The Bigger Picture
Kamala Harris’s victory is historic, but the way election data is reported—and how official government websites operate—deserves scrutiny. If a .gov site contains unusual tracking scripts, it raises questions about who controls the narrative and data flow.
So, if you’re tracking the election, don’t just take headlines at face value. Check official sources, cross-reference multiple outlets, and keep an eye on digital breadcrumbs. In an age of misinformation and manipulation, staying informed isn’t just a choice—it’s a necessity.