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CNN —
False claims and conspiracy theories astir voting and the predetermination process swirled connected societal media arsenic Americans formed their ballots connected Tuesday.
The disinformation was driven by Republicans. Former President Donald Trump and different salient right-wing figures seized connected method problems successful immoderate cardinal states to baselessly suggest determination had been intentional malfeasance. Trump besides made a baseless assertion of wide elector fraud.
Here is simply a look astatine immoderate of the aboriginal mendacious and misleading claims. This nonfiction volition beryllium updated arsenic CNN fact-checks further claims.
Trump, who has repeatedly and falsely alleged that determination was wide elector fraud successful the 2020 election, baselessly suggested connected societal media connected Tuesday that specified fraud mightiness beryllium happening successful the 2022 midterms.
“Same happening is happening with Voter Fraud arsenic happened successful 2020???” the erstwhile president wrote Tuesday day connected his Truth Social platform.
There was no evidence of wide oregon outcome-changing elector fraud successful the 2020 election, and determination was nary aboriginal motion connected Tuesday of immoderate important elector fraud successful the 2022 midterms. Voter fraud typically represents a tiny fraction of ballots formed successful US elections.
Trump made his Tuesday assertion amid a bid of societal media posts successful which helium complained astir assorted technical difficulties successful immoderate states. There was nary grounds that immoderate of these issues progressive intentional malfeasance, fto unsocial “voter fraud.”
–Daniel Dale
Maricopa County, the astir populous region successful Arizona, has tweeted a debunking of a salient Republican personality’s mendacious Election Day assertion astir voting hold times.
Charlie Kirk, the laminitis and president of right-wing radical Turning Point USA, tweeted Tuesday to his 1.8 cardinal followers: “2 hr hold minimum astatine astir polling places successful Maricopa. Democrats moving elections present knew this would happen. Traffic jam by design. DONT LET THEM DO 2020 AGAIN. WAIT IN LINE AND VOTE.”
The tweet was thoroughly inaccurate.
Maricopa County’s elections aren’t tally by Democrats: its elections chief, Recorder Stephen Richer, and its Board of Supervisors chairman, Bill Gates, are some Republicans. And the county’s online wait-times tracker showed that dozens of voting locations determination had waits of nether 5 minutes, including galore with nary waits astatine all. County voters are permitted to formed their ballots astatine whatever determination they choose.
Maricopa County did acquisition Election Day technical problems with tabulation devices astatine astir 20% of its voting locations, according to region officials connected Tuesday morning. The occupation prompted officials to inquire affected voters to spot their ballot successful a unafraid container for counting, hold for the tabulator problems to beryllium resolved, oregon spell ballot astatine different region location. (Richer issued an afternoon statement saying the Board of Supervisors had identified the occupation and had “begun fixing affected voting locations.” He promised that “every ineligible ballot volition beryllium tabulated.”)
But determination was nary denotation of intentional malfeasance.
Maricopa County said successful its tweet successful effect to Kirk’s tweet: “No portion of the tweet beneath is accurate. The immense bulk of Vote Centers are seeing hold times nether 30 minutes, and whether by tabulator oregon unafraid ballot box, each voters are being served.”
–Daniel Dale
Conspiracy theorists are informing voters to “check for WiFi” web names and connections wrong and extracurricular of their polling locations, a caller iteration of the debunked conspiracy that voting machines are connected to the net and tin alteration votes remotely.
“Check for Wifi connections, some wrong & extracurricular canvass locations. Election machines should not beryllium connected to the Internet. Take a screenshot to study irregularities for investigation,” read 1 tweet.
The calls connected societal media sites specified arsenic Telegram and Twitter echo erstwhile debunked conspiracy theories that voting machines are connected to the internet, frankincense allowing for tampering by third-party saboteurs oregon predetermination officials to alteration votes from 1 campaigner to another.
In reality, “voting machines” that really people ballots are not typically straight connected to the internet, contempt cries from predetermination conspiracy theorists. The larger voting systems tin beryllium connected to the internet, often to usage the predetermination absorption bundle utilized to programme machines and to trial them, but this is expected to hap before voting.
Polling locations successful galore states usage WiFi to entree physics canvass books to verify elector eligibility.
On Tuesday, determination were isolated incidents of those physics canvass books – laptops utilized by predetermination workers to guarantee voters are registered – not moving astatine polling sites successful Detroit, Michigan, due to the fact that of machine issues, but it did not forestall immoderate voters from voting.
“Voting machines” that really people ballots are not typically straight connected to the internet. But the supporting pieces that marque up the voting process tin beryllium – similar predetermination absorption bundle that is utilized to programme voting machines beforehand.
–Em Steck and Olivia Alafriz
Trump urged followers to “protest,” and the GOP nominee for Michigan caput of authorities falsely claimed “fraud” was to blasted for what officials called a “harmless information error” successful Detroit.
By the clip Trump weighed in, the Michigan Department of State had already addressed what happened astatine prime polling places successful Detroit and said a solution had been identified. That hole was sent to precincts by 11 a.m.
Even erstwhile the concern was inactive being reviewed, “voters were ever capable to vote,” Michigan Department of State spokesperson Jake Rollow told reporters Tuesday. “At nary constituent was any, was determination immoderate inability to process a elector who showed up,” helium said.
Rollow said determination were a “couple reports” of isolated issues with e-poll books astatine immoderate precincts successful Detroit. E-poll books are laptops that person a static download of the elector registration list, Rollow said. When voters get astatine their polling place, predetermination workers cheque them successful connected an e-poll publication to guarantee they’re registered, successful the close precinct, and haven’t already voted absentee. Polling sites person hard transcript insubstantial backups to cheque successful voters, Rollow said.
The City of Detroit Department of Elections explained successful a connection that immoderate e-poll books showed an incorrect connection that read, “Ballot # has already been issued arsenic Absentee Voter Ballot,” owed to a “harmless information error,” but that didn’t mean anyone was attempting to ballot twice.
Regardless, Kristina Karamo, the GOP nominee for Michigan caput of state, falsely tweeted that determination was “fraud” and a “crime” taking place.
And Trump falsely said connected his Truth Social account, “the Absentee Ballot concern successful Detroit is REALLY BAD. People are showing up to Vote lone to beryllium told, ‘sorry, you person already voted.’ This is happening successful ample numbers, elsewhere arsenic well. Protest, Protest, Protest!”
Rollow explained that sometimes the aforesaid numbers are utilized for in-person and absentee ballots due to the fact that they’re abstracted sets of ballots, and the exertion is expected to disregard it.
If canvass workers encountered the issue, they were instructed to people a ballot with an ‘X’ to marque wide that the ballot was issued successful person, helium said.
Some voters who were affected earlier successful the greeting were fixed a provisional ballot, Rollow said. Those provisional ballots volition beryllium counted arsenic if they were modular ballots and the voters bash not person to instrumentality immoderate further action, helium said.
“The protections were already and ever successful spot to support anyone from voting twice,” Rollow said aboriginal successful the afternoon, adding that it “could not person occurred successful this situation.”
–Annie Grayer and Nicki Brown
A Wisconsin predetermination authoritative changeable down claims made connected societal media suggesting a canvass idiosyncratic shown successful a quality clip was inappropriately filling retired ballots.
The antheral appeared successful footage of a polling halfway aired connected a Fox News show, sitting astatine a array with a stack of ballots successful beforehand of him, looking from broadside to broadside arsenic helium flipped done the pages and made marks connected the documents with his pen.
People connected societal media called retired the man’s actions, questioning whether helium was doing thing illegal.
But the region clerk successful Dane County, Wisconsin, told CNN that helium looked into the incidental and determined that the antheral pictured successful the video was a canvass idiosyncratic who was initialing and indicating the ward fig connected the backmost of the ballots, successful mentation for the ballots to beryllium handed retired to voters.
“This process is required by instrumentality and is portion of the cheque and equilibrium process,” Dane County Clerk Scott McDonell said successful an email.
Some posts connected societal media astir the video clip besides erroneously suspected that the incidental occurred astatine a Philadelphia predetermination center, but a spokesperson for Philadelphia County confirmed to CNN that it did not instrumentality spot astatine a polling determination successful the city.
– Blake Ellis
English (US)