Fact Check – US Election 2024: Your guide to spotting falsehoods

On predetermination nighttime 2020, then-President Donald Trump prematurely declared hours aft polls had closed: “We already person won.”

He hadn’t, and we rated that “Pants connected Fire”. When Trump began to talk successful the aboriginal greeting of November 4, astatine 2:21am ET, states were inactive pursuing mean procedures to number ballots. It was not until Saturday, November 7, that The Associated Press had capable unofficial results disposable to telephone the contention for Joe Biden.

In the past, erstwhile polls closed, politicians and societal media influencers dispersed falsehoods astir voting and the ballot-counting process. It’s apt that as the votes are being counted this year, we volition spot falsehoods akin to those successful 2020.

Voters who are seeking credible sources for predetermination results accusation tin travel reports from authorities predetermination officials nationwide, compiled by the National Association of State Election Directors. The AP is among the quality outlets that volition telephone projected winners based connected unofficial results, but successful galore states that volition not instrumentality spot connected predetermination night.

Here are immoderate falsehoods that mightiness aboveground aft the polls close.

Claims astir thousands of dormant voters

It’s a zombie assertion we spot during each predetermination cycle: immense numbers of dormant radical are voting! And they are each Democrats! Neither is true.

As ballot counting was nether mode successful November 2020, X posts falsely said that much than 14,000 dormant radical voted successful Wayne County, Michigan.

Typically erstwhile voters die, it’s uncommon that their relatives interaction section elections offices to inquire that their names beryllium removed from elector rolls. But predetermination offices routinely person decease records from authorities and national sources and past region dormant voters’ names from elector rolls. Some inactive extremity up connected the rolls.

Occasionally, radical illegally formed message ballots successful dormant relatives’ names, arsenic a Republican did successful 2020 successful Nevada. That elector was charged with felonies.

Claims that ballot errors and predetermination tract mishaps adjacent fraud

Although predetermination officials walk years preparing for statesmanlike elections, errors sometimes occur.

They are not a motion of fraud.

So acold this year, we person seen a constricted fig of ballots with errors, specified arsenic a typo successful immoderate ballots successful Palm Beach County, Florida. County officials said 257 overseas voters opened an email with a ballot that said “Tom” Walz alternatively of Tim Walz, Democratic statesmanlike nominee Vice President Kamala Harris’s moving mate.

Some predetermination sites person mishaps, specified arsenic a 6am h2o leak connected Election Day successful 2020 astatine Atlanta’s State Farm Arena, wherever predetermination workers were counting absentee ballots. Arena unit repaired the leak successful astir 2 hours and nary ballots oregon machines were damaged. State and region predetermination officials debunked the assertion that predetermination officials utilized the lawsuit to circumvent processes and propulsion retired ballots stored successful “suitcases” that were “all for Biden”.

Claims of thousands of fake votes successful Pennsylvania

Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, officials said successful an archetypal October 25 connection that they were investigating 2,500 “ballots”, but a region spokesperson aboriginal said that connection was a mistake and the probe was into elector registration applications.

Days later, Trump falsely said astatine an Allentown, Pennsylvania, rally: “We caught them with 2,600 votes. … And each ballot was written by the aforesaid person.” He made akin comments connected X astir “fake ballots and forms” successful Pennsylvania.

Pennsylvania Attorney General Michelle Henry, a Democrat, said successful an October 31 statement: “The investigations respect elector registration forms, not ballots” and were nether mode successful 4 counties.

Officials bash not spot radical connected elector rolls if their registration is suspect, truthful that means that determination were not thousands of fake votes.

Claims astir machines flipping votes

As Kentucky’s Republican Secretary of State Michael Adams wrote connected November 2 connected X: “Gentle reminder that vote-switching is fiction.” He linked to a 2008 video of Homer Simpson trying to ballot for Barack Obama but repeatedly voting for erstwhile Senator John McCain, R-Ariz.

Election officials facing reports of “flipped” oregon “switched” votes person said that sometimes that is idiosyncratic mistake and, erstwhile voters bring it to their attention, officials marque definite voters tin formed ballots with their desired choices.

That is what happened successful Tarrant County, Texas, erstwhile 1 idiosyncratic retired of much than 100,000 voters reported having a ballot for Trump changed to Harris erstwhile the ballot was printed. Local predetermination officials said the voting machines were not flipping candidates and suggested the elector made a mistake erstwhile selecting preferred candidates. That ballot was destroyed and the elector was allowed to ballot again.

An October Instagram station said voting machines successful Shelby County, Tennessee, were swapping votes from Harris to Trump. Election officials said determination were nary voting instrumentality malfunctions. Voters had inadvertently touched the incorrect country of the ballot erstwhile utilizing the touchscreen voting machines.

Rampant non-citizen voting does not occur

Trump and his supporters person falsely claimed that Democrats are down a strategy to lure non-citizens to the US to ballot successful national elections. That’s not happening.

Federal instrumentality bans non-citizens from voting successful national elections.

Non-citizens sometimes onshore connected elector rolls, often by mishap erstwhile getting driver’s licences. However, voting by non-citizens successful national elections is rare. The largest lawsuit with convictions we recovered was successful 2020 successful North Carolina, erstwhile national prosecutors charged 19 radical with elector fraud aft they formed ballots, mostly successful the 2016 election. For context, much than 4.5 cardinal radical successful North Carolina voted successful the 2016 statesmanlike election.

Claims that predetermination officials rip up oregon trash ballots

If you’re an predetermination idiosyncratic committing predetermination fraud, you astir apt wouldn’t movie yourself opening message ballot envelopes, calling retired the votes successful those ballots, cursing against 1 campaigner and ripping up ballots marked for that candidate.

But that’s what 1 ridiculous viral video appears to show, starring X users to assertion that message ballots with votes for Trump are being destroyed successful Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Federal officials said Russian actors manufactured and amplified the video.

Claims successful 2020 astir ample numbers of ballots recovered successful the rubbish were either made up oregon were astir spoiled ballots that were legally destroyed.

Claims that predetermination officials sneak successful ‘ballot dumps’ precocious astatine night

It is communal for 1 campaigner to instrumentality the pb successful aboriginal results but not beryllium the victor arsenic much ballots are counted. For example, successful Pennsylvania, if it takes longer to number votes successful left-leaning Philadelphia than successful a much right-leaning portion of the state, it’s imaginable that Trump could pb the authorities aboriginal successful the nighttime but spot the margins displacement later.

Trump tweeted the assertion connected November 4 2020: “Last nighttime I was leading, often solidly, successful galore cardinal states, successful astir each instances Democrat tally and controlled. Then, 1 by one, they started to magically vanish arsenic astonishment ballot dumps were counted.”

In immoderate states, Trump did initially lead, lone to spot Biden yet instrumentality the lead. But successful different states, Biden led and Trump came backmost to instrumentality the lead.

There is thing nefarious astir section predetermination officials updating results successful the hours and days aft polls close. In fact, it means they are counting each morganatic ballots. State laws dictate the process, including erstwhile officials tin commencement opening message ballots. That means it takes clip to decorativeness the count. Some states, specified arsenic Pennsylvania, bash not let predetermination workers to statesman processing message ballots until Election Day, portion different states let that to statesman weeks earlier.

Claims that wide elector fraud successful 2020 affected the election’s outcome

After the polls closed successful 2020, a cascade of societal media images and photos claimed to amusement canvass workers and others committing elector fraud. But the posts mostly showed predetermination officials doing their jobs.

The predetermination strategy successful our state makes specified a heist some improbable and impossibly elaborate.

“We should telephone this what it is: Trump laying the groundwork truthful helium tin formed uncertainty connected the 2024 results if helium does not win,” Joanna Lydgate, CEO of the nonpartisan States United Democracy Center, told PolitiFact successful aboriginal October.

To physique a capable Electoral College margin, atrocious actors would person to collaborate crossed battleground states successful a coordinated but concealed way, with hundreds of radical risking felonies for the aforesaid goal.

Pulling this disconnected would necessitate thousands of amerciable votes. A database maintained by the blimpish Heritage Foundation shows astir 1,300 convictions for elector fraud implicit decades. During that period, billions of votes were cast.

Claims of aboriginal victory

Speaking astatine the White House hours aft the polls closed successful 2020, Trump said: “We privation each voting to stop. We bash not privation them to find immoderate ballots astatine 4 o’clock successful the greeting and adhd them to the list, OK? It’s a precise bittersweet moment. … And we volition triumph this.”

There is nary authorities oregon national instrumentality that says ballot counting indispensable halt a fewer hours aft the polls close. Election officials would person violated laws if they simply stopped counting morganatic ballots.

State laws acceptable the certification deadline successful November oregon December, truthful the authoritative results volition not beryllium known for weeks aft Election Day. However, media outlets are apt to task a victor acold earlier than that.