mid the ongoing 2024 US Presidential election, a video has surfaced on social media claiming to show election officials rigging voting machines in Pennsylvania. This clip, shared widely, has raised alarm about alleged illegal voting and election fraud. However, Fact Check India has investigated this claim and found it to be misleading.
The Viral Claim:
A video is being circulated with captions such as: “Breaking: Five Trump-leaning counties in Pennsylvania are experiencing widespread machine failures. ES&S and MicroVote are partnering with Dominion Rigging Systems.” The video appears to show officials handling voting machines, suggesting fraudulent activity.
The Investigation:
Our fact-checking team conducted a reverse image search on the video and discovered that it was first shared in 2023, labeled as a recording of election officials tampering with voting machine memory cards in Maricopa County, Arizona. Notably, the video’s timestamp indicated October 14, 2022.
Further research revealed that this video depicted a routine process in Maricopa County before the 2022 midterm elections. Reports confirmed that election workers were seen installing certified memory cards containing official election software into voting tabulators. This procedure, common before elections, was live-streamed by the Maricopa County Ballot Tabulation Center to ensure transparency.
Official Statements:
Maricopa County addressed the spread of this video in a post shared on its official social media account on May 31, 2023. The county clarified that the video showed the installation of election program memory cards into voting machines, part of the standard pre-election preparation.
In 2022, Republican candidate Kari Lake, who ran for Arizona Governor, filed a lawsuit citing alleged election fraud by Maricopa officials, which included this video as evidence. However, the courts dismissed these claims due to a lack of substantive proof.
Misinterpretation Amid 2024 Elections:
With heightened scrutiny and concerns over election integrity, former President Donald Trump and his supporters have alleged voter fraud in Pennsylvania during the current election cycle. Election officials, however, have rejected these claims, emphasizing that no substantial evidence supports allegations of widespread fraud or illegal voting.
Conclusion:
The video currently being shared as evidence of voting fraud in the 2024 US Presidential election is, in fact, from 2022. It shows election workers conducting a routine and transparent process in Arizona ahead of the midterm elections. The viral claim linking this footage to the 2024 elections is false and misleading.
Voters and social media users are advised to verify the authenticity of content and claims, especially during election periods when misinformation is prevalent.