An election worker opens ballots to prepare them for tabulation in Renton, Wash. on Nov. 5.Lindsey Wasson/The Associated Press
This article is part of The Globe’s initiative to cover dis- and misinformation. Email us to share tips or feedback at disinfodesk@globeandmail.com.
Numerous false and misleading claims were made relating to Tuesday’s election day, gathering millions of impressions on platforms such as X. Here are some of the most prominent claims and the facts to address them.
Debunked video from 2022 about voting machines recirculated
A video from the 2022 U.S. midterm elections, which was debunked when previously used to falsely claim interference with voting machines, was recirculated on X. The post used the video to make a similar false claim about issues with voting machines in the 2024 presidential election and has 1.8 million views with 18,000 reposts. We are not linking to the post so it is not amplified.
The video shows election workers in Maricopa County, Ariz., interacting with voting machines. It was posted to X on Tuesday with text claiming “WIDESPREAD MACHINE FAILURES.” There is a date stamp in the bottom right corner of the video showing Oct. 14, 2022.
Screenshot of a video posted to X on Nov. 5 with the false claim it shows evidence of tampering with voting machines. This is an expanded view of the date stamp in the video that shows it is from Oct. 2022.X
The Associated Press debunked this video in 2023. A spokesperson for the Maricopa County Election Department said then that the video is from the county’s own livestream of its ballot tabulation centre on Oct. 14, 17 and 18, 2022. The spokesperson said workers in the video were installing new memory cards into the machines and then running test ballots to make sure the system was operating properly, a process that happens before every election.
No, a Democratic congressman did not say a Trump victory would not be certified
Democratic Congressman Jamie Raskin rejected a false quote claimed to be from him saying an election win by Donald Trump would not be certified.
The fabricated quote has been viewed more than eight million times on X.
Replying to the post on X on Tuesday, Mr. Raskin said it is completely false and “one more lie in the stream of right-wing lies designed to undermine our election.” Mr. Raskin said in an interview with Axios that if Mr. Trump “won a free, fair and honest election, then we would obviously accept it.”
Screenshot of a post on X of Democratic congressman Jamie Raskin rejecting as false a quote attributed to him saying a Donald Trump election win would not be certified.X
Misleading claim immigration agents were ordered not to wear uniforms to polling places so non-citizens would not be intimidated
A misleading video posted to Instagram and X claimed that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers were ordered not to wear their uniforms to polling places so non-citizens would not feel intimidated.
This misrepresents general uniform policies and laws intended to keep voting free from intimidation. The video goes on to falsely suggest non-citizen voting is widespread. We are not directly linking to the video so it is not amplified.
Screenshot of a video posted to X that made the misleading claim immigration officers were ordered not to wear uniforms when voting.
U.S. law prohibits military and civil law enforcement activity at voting centres unless to “repel armed enemies.” A 2020 guidance document from the Arizona Secretary of State said uniformed police should not be near polling centres because it “may have the effect of intimidating voters.” The Department of Defense posted an ethics reminder in 2020 that said “all members of the armed forces … are prohibited from wearing military uniforms at political campaign or election events.”
Non-citizens are prohibited from voting in federal U.S. elections and face serious penalties if they do, including deportation. The Brennan Center for Justice found that non-citizen voting to be exceedingly rare.
Hoax bomb threats disrupted some polling places in otherwise smooth election day
The Associated Press reported that bomb threats in several battleground states turned out to be hoaxes, but officials forced some polling places to evacuate, extend hours and delayed the counting of some ballots. AP noted that a generally smooth election day capped a tumultuous presidential campaign.
Despite no evidence of widespread voting problems, Mr. Trump made unsubstantiated claims related to Philadelphia and Detroit, and raised questions about election operations in Milwaukee. Local officials quickly knocked down the claims Mr. Trump made on Truth Social, saying there were no indications of any problems that would affect accurately tallying the vote.
Voting was characterized by routine hiccups and frustrations seen in other elections: a polling worker forgetting to bring a key, ballot printing mistakes, ballot-counting machines not working. The vast majority of problems were “largely expected, routine and planned-for events,” said Cait Conley, senior adviser to the director of the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.
With a report from The Associated Press