KY Voting Machine
Molly Butler / Media Matters

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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

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.”

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  • 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]