Within the wake of President-elect Donald Trump’s 2024 victory, on-line misinformation claiming the election was rigged in his favor has proliferated — together with theories about lacking votes and voting machine dysfunction.
As was the case with election denialism following the 2020 election, these conspiracy theories about election fraud are false. In line with the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Safety Company, the federal physique that oversees dangers to election techniques, there haven’t been indicators of meddling or hacks on machines affecting the race final result.
“Importantly, we have now no proof of any malicious exercise that had a cloth affect on the safety or integrity of our election infrastructure,” CISA director Jen Easterly stated in an announcement.
Whereas it’s true that the present complete vote depend is lower than it was in 2020, that’s not as a result of votes are lacking —quite a few ballots are nonetheless being tabulated and the ultimate depend isn’t but obtainable.
It’s value noting there’s a giant distinction between 2020 and the misinformation being unfold this time round. Over the last cycle, Trump was one of many chief individuals perpetuating lies in regards to the election being stolen and falsehoods about fraud. Highly effective voices within the GOP — together with senators and Home members — echoed the claims.
This cycle, Vice President Kamala Harris has already conceded the election, and Democratic leaders, together with President Joe Biden, have emphasised the necessity for a peaceable switch of energy. The misinformation this week as a substitute seems to be coming from on-line observers — lots of them small accounts — dissatisfied within the final result of the election or desirous to revive claims of election denialism from 2020.
There’s no proof to again up the “lacking ballots” conspiracy idea
One conspiracy idea that’s unfold on-line is that there are votes lacking this cycle as a result of the depend to this point is decrease than what it was in 2020. In actuality, that’s as a result of votes are nonetheless being counted — significantly in populous states, like California, that rely closely on mail-in ballots.
Observers on either side of the aisle have floated this idea. These sympathetic with Democrats argue that it’s proof that Trump cheated and that votes are lacking from the ultimate depend. These sympathetic with Republicans say it’s extra proof that one thing went awry in 2020 and that further votes had been counted that yr.
Neither is right, specialists emphasize.
“These are each lies. These are each full misinterpretations of the information,” David Becker, the founder and govt director of the Middle for Election Innovation and Analysis, a nonpartisan nonprofit that works on election administration, instructed Vox.
Declare: There have been 20 million fewer votes forged in 2024 than in 2020.
Actuality: The ultimate depend for this election remains to be not but in and will take weeks. That’s as a result of quite a few states together with California, Nevada, and Arizona are persevering with to course of mail-in ballots. In consequence, evaluating the present vote totals with these in 2020 isn’t an correct method.
“Due to sluggish counting of ballots largely out west, there are nonetheless hundreds of thousands of votes to be added to the final word totals,” UCLA election legislation professor Rick Hasen instructed Vox. “When all is claimed and achieved, turnout will doubtless be on par with turnout within the final election.”
The altering vote totals is proof of this dynamic. As Gabriel Sterling, the chief working officer of the Georgia secretary of state workplace, famous on Friday, the distinction in vote totals between 2024 and 2020 has already modified: Whereas there was a distinction of 20 million votes on Wednesday, it went down to fifteen million votes on Thursday as extra ballots had been counted.
As of early Friday afternoon, an estimated 91.8 p.c of votes had been counted, based on the New York Instances. That included a complete of 144.7 million votes, together with 69.2 million for Harris and 73.5 million for Trump.
On condition that estimate, there ought to be a complete of roughly 157.6 million complete votes forged, as soon as the total depend is in.
That determine is much like the 2020 closing vote complete. When 100% of votes had been counted in 2020, 155.5 million complete votes had been forged together with 81.2 million for Biden and 74.2 million for Trump.
A conspiracy idea about swing states is fake, too
One other declare that’s emerged facilities on how Harris misplaced key swing states together with Michigan and Wisconsin — however Democrats gained different seats, together with Senate seats in these locations. As a result of some voters in these states seem to have cut up their tickets, that’s prompted some on-line observers to push theories that there’s one thing amiss with voting machines or different elements of the election course of.
Declare: Democrats dropping the presidency however profitable different seats in swing states is proof there’s one thing awry.
Actuality: Though they’ve change into much less widespread over time, split-ticket voters nonetheless exist. Recall that in 2020, Biden gained most of Maine’s electoral votes whereas Republican Sen. Susan Collins gained the state. That yr, a large proportion of the state backed each Biden and Collins.
This cycle, that very same dynamic was obvious with voters electing Democrats Tammy Baldwin and Elissa Slotkin to the Senate in Wisconsin and Michigan, respectively, and Trump to the presidency.
“There have been Trump-Stein voters in North Carolina, there have been Trump-Slotkin voters in Michigan, there have been Trump-Gallego voters in Arizona,” Becker says. There’s additionally proof {that a} phase of voters in locations like Wisconsin might have supported Trump however skipped the Senate query altogether.
Traditionally, split-ticket voters have voted on this approach as a result of they see supporting completely different events as an effort at moderation or placing checks on every get together. In some circumstances, points with candidate high quality may additionally flip voters away: In North Carolina, for instance, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Josh Stein doubtless benefited as a result of his opponent, Republican Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, was below fireplace for making inflammatory statements.
The presence of voters who both cut up their ticket or didn’t vote in down poll races shouldn’t be, nevertheless, an indication of fraud.
There are layers of election safety
Each Becker and Hasen observe that post-election audits will likely be carried out to find out if there have been any discrepancies in vote counts, or in election machine performance. In these audits, officers do a hand depend of a collection of paper ballots to make sure that the outcomes being reported by the machines are correct. These audits ought to safeguard in opposition to any potential errors in machines — although, once more, there hasn’t been any proof that such points affected the end result.
Broadly, although, each specialists emphasize that the US election system is reliable and that the method went easily this yr.
“The election was properly run,” Hasen pressured.
