Shadow of Ezra

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Right-wing media amplify baseless claims that touch screen voting machines in Kentucky are flipping votes

Kentucky Secretary of State Michael Adams dispelled the claim: “There is no ‘vote-switching.’ The voter confirmed that her ballot was correctly printed as marked for the candidate of her choice. Get your voting information from legitimate sources.”

Written by Jack Winstanley

Research contributions from Alex Kaplan & Shelby Jamerson

Published 11/01/24 mma

Right-wing and far-right media have amplified a baseless claim that touch screen voting machines in Kentucky are flipping votes from former President Donald Trump to Vice President Kamala Harris, with similar claims emerging from Texas. Local election officials in each state have rebutted the claims, with one Kentucky official saying, “There is no scenario in which a voter would be forced to cast a ballot that they believe did not reflect their intentions.”

Election officials in several states have rebutted social media posts claiming that voting machines are flipping votes

• • Kentucky Secretary of State Michael Adams debunked a widespread TikTok video that purports to show a voter in Laurel County, Kentucky, unable to select Trump on a touch screen voting machine. The video, which also showed the machine selecting Harris, has received 6.1 million views, with right-wing figures sharing it across other social media platforms as well. According to Adams, “There is no ‘vote-switching.’ The voter confirmed that her ballot was correctly printed as marked for the candidate of her choice. Get your voting information from legitimate sources.” The Dispatch, [10/31/24; TikTok, 10/21/24, 10/21/24; Louisville Courier Journal, 10/31/24; PolitiFact, 11/1/24]

• • Kentucky election officials suggested that the video showed an isolated incident, with one Laurel County official stating, “Nobody complained before her, nobody complained after her.” Laurel County officials reported the issue to the attorney general’s office “just to cover all our bases,” and took their own video “showing that the machine is working and it is not flipping votes,” but were ultimately “unable to replicate the woman’s issue.” A spokesperson for the company that provides voting equipment for Laurel County confirmed that the touch screen devices print paper ballots that can be reviewed by voters prior to submission, adding, “There is no scenario in which a voter would be forced to cast a ballot that they believe did not reflect their intentions.” The Dispatch, [10/31/24]

• • The Tarrant County, Texas, elections office stated that it has “no reason to believe that votes are being switched by the voting system,” after a right-wing X (formerly Twitter) influencer claimed that machines were switching votes. Right-wing commentator George Behizy claimed that “Voters in Tarrant County, Texas are reporting that the voting machines are flipping their votes from Trump to Kamala Harris.” Local officials confirmed, however, that the voter who believed his vote had been miscast “was issued a new ballot and able to vote." PolitiFact, [10/24/24; Twitter/X, 10/21/24]

• • In the run-up to Election Day, right-wing and far-right media figures have been pushing baseless claims and conspiracy theories, seemingly attempting to undermine the election results. Several of these claims have involved voting machines, but experts say that voting machines are safe and difficult to hack or interfere with, and that errors are generally remedied by poll workers and local officials who have backup systems to ensure accurate votes are cast. Bloomberg, [10/30/24; ABC News, 10/31/24; CBS News, 10/24/24; Brennan Center for Justice, 3/1/24, 10/25/24; Media Matters, 10/24/24, 10/30/24]

• ## Right-wing and far-right media figures are elevating the video that purports to show a voting machine in Kentucky, with some suggesting it could be “election fraud” or part of “election theft”

• • On X, podcaster Joe Rogan shared the Kentucky video, adding, “What do you think? Broken machine or election fraud?” Twitter/X, [11/1/24]

• • Right-wing social media figure Nick Sortor stated on X that “voting machines in Kentucky are NOT ALLOWING voters to select President Trump.” He added, “Why does this always seem happen in one direction and not the other?” Twitter/X, [10/31/24]

• • An article for The Gateway Pundit promoted the video, claiming in a headline that a “Kentucky Touch Screen Repeatedly Won’t Allow Voter To Select Trump.” The article ends with a plea for voters to “remain vigilant,” and speculates, “How many other machines had the same thing happen to voters before this one voter who was aware enough to notice the mistake and smart enough to pull out his phone and record what happened?” The Gateway Pundit, [11/1/24]

• • On Truth Social, election denial organization True the Vote shared the Kentucky video, claiming that the machine “automatically selected Harris/Walz” and that voters were supposedly “unable to select Trump/Vance.” Truth Social, [10/31/24; Media Matters, 8/6/24]

• • Right-wing conspiracy theorist Tara Bull shared the Kentucky video on X, claiming that “Kentucky voting machines are REFUSING to let voters select Donald Trump’s name.” Twitter/X, [10/31/24; Media Matters, 8/23/23]

• • QAnon account MJTruthUltra posted videos of voting machines allegedly in Kentucky and Arkansas, adding in one post, “Why do these “glitches” always favor democrats?” Twitter/X, [10/31/24, 10/31/24]

• • QAnon influencer Jeffrey Pedersen (known online as “intheMatrixxx”) shared the Kentucky video, claiming a “voter in Kentucky cannot choose @realDonaldTrump for President.” Twitter/X, [10/31/24; Media Matters, 12/18/23]

• • QAnon account Shadow of Ezra shared the Kentucky video on Telegram, adding, “Voting machines are preventing you to select Donald Trump as your president.” Telegram, [10/31/24, Media Matters, 5/6/24]

• • An article posted on Alex Jones’ InfoWars site claimed that the Kentucky video “appears to show a voter being prevented from selecting Donald Trump as his presidential pick.” The article also speculated about “the threat of another election theft on the horizon,” and encouraged voters to “remain vigilant at the polls and re-check their ballots.” InfoWars, [10/31/24]

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Far-right media figures are reviving their conspiratorial crusade against Dominion Voting Systems

With early voting underway, some right-wing media figures are falsely claiming that Dominion voting machines are “switching the votes”

Written by Jack Winstanley, Jack Wheatley & Reed McMaster

Research contributions from Alex Kaplan

Published 10/24/24 10:11 AM EDT

As early voting gets underway in many states, far-right media outlets and personalities have begun promoting a conspiracy theory that Dominion voting machines have “switched” votes, which echoes the debunked conspiracy theory about Dominion voting machines that was heavily promoted by far-right and right-wing media, such as Fox News, in 2020.

Select a Section

• ## Far-right media figures are reviving their 2020 playbook to undermine election results by spreading conspiracy theories about Dominion voting machines
  • On October 18, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) claimed that voting machines supplied by Dominion Voting Systems had flipped votes in Whitfield County, Georgia, prompting election officials to clarify that the situation had been determined to be the result of user error and “was quickly resolved while the voter was still on-site.” Accusations of “fraud” on the part of Dominion were also dispelled by Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, who stated that the situation “got blown out of proportion” and that the claims made are “not supported by the facts.” KFDM, [10/21/24]
  • Following the 2020 presidential election, right-wing media, including Fox News, targeted Dominion Voting Systems with multiple conspiracy theories alleging that the company had engaged in election fraud. Notably, the company reached a $787.5 million settlement with Fox News, which acknowledged in a statement “the court’s rulings finding certain claims about Dominion to be false.” Right-wing media figures had falsely accused voting machine companies of “flipping” or deleting votes in order to sway election outcomes. The Associated Press, [4/18/23; Reuters, 12/20/22; Media Matters, 11/13/20, 4/18/23, 5/2/23]
  • Ahead of the 2024 presidential election, right-wing and far-right media figures have already started to push conspiratorial claims seemingly to undermine election results, including baseless claims about supposed mass voting by noncitizens and a conspiracy theory that Democrats are attempting to steal the election with overseas voting.Right-wing media figures have also repeatedly pushed the “great replacement” conspiracy theory with claims that Democrats are allowing “a wide open border” in order to sway census data and “get more Electoral College votes so they can find another way to rig elections.” Several right-wing and far-right media figures who have evoked the specter of noncitizen voting have claimed that state departments of motor vehicles are being used in a scheme to “register illegals to vote” through driver’s license applications. Some others have mischaracterized overseas voting — a legal process that allows U.S. citizens abroad to vote — as an “Undetectable Way to Steal the Election From Trump.” Media Matters, [7/11/24, 9/16/24, 9/23/24, 10/3/24, 10/10/24, 10/21/24]
  • On October 19, Dominion Voting Systems released a statement on X (formerly Twitter) apparently in response to the renewal of conspiracy theories.The company wrote, “Dominion is closely monitoring claims around the Nov. 2024 election and strongly encourages use of verified, credible sources of info. We remain fully prepared to defend our company & our customers against lies and those who spread them.” Twitter/X, [10/19/24]
• ## Right-wing media and far-right figures are claiming that Dominion voting machines are compromised
  • On Infowars, Marjorie Taylor Greene spread conspiracy theories about Dominion Voting Systems to Alex Jones, saying that “a very good friend” in her district had shared a social media post about a woman whose vote allegedly changed after using a voting machine, and that “everyone” she has talked to “feels like Donald Trump would win by a landslide if they don't steal the election.” On October 18, Greene said that the ballot was “marked wrong,” and that “every single time” they tried to use the machine “it kept on making the same error – kept on switching the votes.” Later on in the show, Greene also expressed skepticism about overseas voting, saying “the amount of concerns that we have about people being sent emails overseas, telling them how to obtain an absentee ballot and telling them how to mail — to send it in by email,” concluding that she is “concerned about November 5.” Later in the hour, Jones asked her to retell this story. While it is true that certain states allow for ballots to be sent and received electronically, the Brennan Center for Justice has stated that criticism of the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act “appears to be part of the larger effort by election deniers (frequently backed by the Republican Party) to plant the idea the election is not legitimate.” Infowars, *The Alex Jones Show*, [10/18/24, 10/18/24; Bipartisan Policy Center, 9/9/24; Brennan Center for Justice, 10/18/24]
  • Greene doubled down in a post on X, writing, “Reports from Whitfield County, GA that Dominion machines are flipping votes.” She added, “This is exactly the kind of fraud we saw in 2020.” In an earlier post, Greene claimed that a ballot “had been changed from their selections made on the machine,” and encouraged voters to “double check your printed ballot.” Twitter/X, [10/18/24, 10/18/24]
  • Responding to Greene’s post, Rogan O’Handley (who operates the right-wing social media account DC Draino) asked on X, “Why can’t Georgia just run a clean election?! Why are votes being changed in the machines?! ENOUGH.” Twitter/X, [10/18/24; South Florida Sun Sentinel, 6/19/22]
  • QAnon account Shadow of Ezra claimed on social media that Dominion Voting Systems were “allegedly flipping votes” in “Georgia, Pennsylvania, and now Tennessee.” Shadow of Ezra also claimed, “These aren't isolated incidents, but rather a wave of complaints pouring in.” In another post, the account alleged, “It’s not just Georgia’s Dominion voting systems raising red flags,” “mail-in ballots in Pennsylvania are arriving already sealed, making them look tampered with and disqualifying them from being counted if you try to open them.” Twitter/X, [10/19/24, 10/18/24; Media Matters, 5/6/24]
  • On X, Trump ally and January 6 rally organizer Kylie Jane Kremer claimed that “we are already seeing MAJOR issues with the [Dominion] machines across the Peach State as early voting is underway.” Kremer claimed that a voter had their vote switched, adding: “A voter chose Trump on the BMD (ballot marking device) & then when the printed ballot came out of the table top printer (before it was scanned to actually cast the ballot), the text showed they selected Kamala.” Twitter/X, [10/18/24; The New York Times, 12/18/23]
  • Patrick Colbeck, a former Michigan state senator who reportedly “traffics in election conspiracy theories,” wrote on X, “Dominion machines caught flipping votes.” He also claimed that “these machines were cited for significant security vulnerabilities,” and that “zero Dominion ICX machines were subject to public accuracy testing.” Twitter/X, [10/19/24; The Washington Post, 5/28/24]
• ## Some far-right media figures lashed out at Dominion following its social media post about alleged lies targeting the company
  • On right-wing outlet LFA TV’s Live from America, host Jeremy Herrell claimed that Dominion was “threatening lawsuits” by stating that they were monitoring claims about their equipment during the 2024 election.Herrell added that Dominion’s post and prior lawsuits are “why Newsmax, Fox News, and others will not say that Dominion voting machines are corrupt. They will not say the 2020 election was stolen. They won’t say any of that because they’ve been sued, and they’ve been threatened, and they’re scared of Dominion.” Rumble, *Live from America*, [10/21/24]
  • On Rumble, anti-vaccine figure Sherry Tenpenny interviewed former member of the Florida House of Representatives Anthony Sabatini, claiming “it seems as though the Dominion server issue has not been addressed.” Sabatini responded, “When it comes to Dominion and, you know, electronic control of the elections, I don't know what to tell you. Unfortunately, a lot of the states have not touched that. The legislature has not touched that.” The Associated Press, [5/7/24; Rumble, This Week with Dr. T, 10/14/24]
  • An article for The Gateway Pundit claimed that Dominion had issued a “chilling warning to conservatives” by stating that it was monitoring claims that its machines may be compromised. The Gateway Pundit, [10/20/24]
  • Right-wing social media account Amuse claimed that Dominion’s statement was a suggestion that the company is “gearing up to file more defamation suits against critics.” Amuse also called Dominion’s post “censorship” and claimed that being “unable to openly discuss their experiences or concerns without fearing litigation feels fundamentally un-American.” Twitter/X, [10/20/24]
  • In response to Dominion’s post, QAnon influencer Jeffrey Pedersen, known online as “intheMatrixxx” posted, “Why is @dominionvoting making such a statement? Seems like people are losing faith in our voting system.” Twitter/X, [10/21/24; Media Matters, 4/29/24]
  • On the Rumble show The Daily Dose, Gateway Pundit writer and far-right show host Elijah Schaffer lambasted Dominion’s post and, using air quotes, asked, “You couldn’t question the vaccines, you couldn’t question the election. What other ‘safe’ and ‘guaranteed’ and ‘free’ process are you not allowed to question that you just have to blindly accept?” He concluded, “Well, it’s getting kind of alarming to me that we’re heading down this road.” Vigilant News Network, *The Daily Dose*, [10/22/24; Media Matters, 7/12/22; Twitter/X, accessed 10/23/24]