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 accordance with the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Safety Company, the federal physique that oversees dangers to election methods, there haven’t been indicators of meddling or hacks on machines affecting the race final result.
“Importantly, we’ve no proof of any malicious exercise that had a cloth influence on the safety or integrity of our election infrastructure,” CISA director Jen Easterly mentioned in a press release.
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 lot of ballots are nonetheless being tabulated and the ultimate depend isn’t but accessible.
It’s price noting there’s an enormous distinction between 2020 and the misinformation being unfold this time round. Over the past 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 — a lot of them small accounts — disillusioned within the final result of the election or desperate to revive claims of election denialism from 2020.
There’s no proof to again up the “lacking ballots” conspiracy principle
One conspiracy principle that’s unfold on-line is that there are votes lacking this cycle as a result of the depend up to now 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 each side of the aisle have floated this principle. 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 additional votes have been counted that 12 months.
Neither is appropriate, consultants 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, advised Vox.
Declare: There have been 20 million fewer votes solid 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 lot of 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.
“Because of sluggish counting of ballots principally out west, there are nonetheless tens of millions of votes to be added to the final word totals,” UCLA election legislation professor Rick Hasen advised Vox. “When all is claimed and completed, turnout will probably 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 have been counted.
As of early Friday afternoon, an estimated 91.8 % 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 solid, as soon as the complete depend is in.
That determine is just like the 2020 remaining vote complete. When one hundred pc of votes have been counted in 2020, 155.5 million complete votes have been solid together with 81.2 million for Biden and 74.2 million for Trump.
A conspiracy principle 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 successful 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 12 months, 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 could have supported Trump however skipped the Senate query altogether.
Traditionally, split-ticket voters have voted on this method as a result of they see supporting totally different events as an effort at moderation or placing checks on every social gathering. In some instances, points with candidate high quality might additionally flip voters away: In North Carolina, for instance, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Josh Stein probably 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 is just not, 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 choice of paper ballots to make sure that the outcomes being reported by the machines are correct. These audits ought to safeguard towards any potential errors in machines — although, once more, there hasn’t been any proof that such points affected the end result.
Broadly, although, each consultants emphasize that the US election system is reliable and that the method went easily this 12 months.
“The election was nicely run,” Hasen burdened.
