Some Shelby County, Tennessee, voters say touchscreen voting machines swapped their votes to candidates from one other get together. However the machines didn’t malfunction.
Early voting started Oct. 16 within the county, and a day later state Democratic lawmakers mentioned at a press convention that some Democratic constituents reported their votes had been registering for Republicans.
Social media customers took discover, with one calling for a bipartisan finish to voting machines.
“Votes being swapped from (Kamala) Harris to (Donald) Trump,” mentioned sticker textual content on an Oct. 20 Instagram video. “It does not matter what political get together you align with. All of us must band collectively and agree these voting machines must go!”
The Instagram submit was flagged as a part of Meta’s efforts to fight false information and misinformation on its Information Feed. (Learn extra about our partnership with Meta, which owns Fb, Instagram and Threads.)
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The county’s election administrator mentioned the issue was that voters’ fingers’ inadvertently touched the unsuitable field on the touchscreens. Every candidate’s title is within the heart of a giant field.
(Screenshot from Instagram)
The Instagram video performs a brief clip of a information report from Motion Information 5 (WMC-TV) in Memphis, which mentioned members of the state’s Democratic caucus had obtained calls from voters about their votes being modified.
The station’s full report offers extra context.
“I don’t imagine that it’s something nefarious in any method, form or kind,” Shelby County Election Commissioner Vanecia Kimbrow mentioned within the information report.
The information report mentioned it was unclear whether or not any Republican voters had skilled related points.
We have now fact-checked related false claims about flipped votes in different states, throughout this election and in 2020.
Kimbrow mentioned on the Oct. 17 information convention that she obtained constituent reviews in about 10 to 12 precincts “of some irregularities with the voting machines.”
Kimbrow mentioned the machines are new and extremely delicate and that voters ought to use a supplied stylus somewhat than their fingers to make sure they make their most popular choices. She additionally urged voters to be “very cautious and really intentional” about casting their votes and to assessment their ballots.
Shelby County Election Administrator Linda Phillips defined what occurred to 2 native information stations.
“There have been just a few voters that felt that the machine was switching their votes. That’s actually not what was taking place,” Phillips advised Fox 13 (WHBQ-TV) in Memphis. She mentioned the problem was the location of the voters’ fingers on the touchscreen poll.
Shelby County Election Administrator Linda Phillips in a video exhibits voters tips on how to choose a candidate on touchscreen machines by clicking the candidate’s title within the heart of the field, not on the smaller field within the higher left nook. (Screenshot from Shelby County Election Fee X submit)
Phillips gave a demonstration to ABC 24 (WATN-TV), additionally in Memphis. The poll proven on the display has a small field on the higher left facet inside a bigger field containing a candidate’s title.
If voters use their fingers to the touch the smaller field on the higher left, they might unintentionally contact a part of the bigger field above it that has a unique candidate’s title. Republican candidates’ names are listed first on the poll, ABC 24 mentioned.
“Whichever stress is heavier, it’ll choose that one, and that is likely to be the one above it,” Phillips mentioned. “The actual easy repair for that’s both use a stylus, however the easiest method is simply contact the candidate’s title.”
Related points have been reported in Tennessee’s Davidson and Williamson counties, in line with Nashville’s WKRN-TV.
The Shelby County Election Fee posted a video on X Oct. 17 exhibiting how the machines work. Within the video, Phillips urges voters to intention for the middle of the bigger field.
Phillips advised PolitiFact in an Oct. 23 electronic mail that the fee has discovered no proof of apparatus malfunction, and the complaints about votes being swapped had been restricted.
“The Shelby County Election Fee has obtained three direct complaints on the polling websites. Of those that complained, every efficiently forged their poll for the candidates of their selection,” Phillips mentioned.
Phillips mentioned the fee shared voting machine demonstrations on social media, on its web site and with media retailers. It has additionally inspired voters to make use of the stylus to pick out candidates and urged voters to deliver considerations to ballot staff or request a paper poll.
Our ruling
An Instagram submit mentioned voting machines in Shelby County, Tennessee, are swapping votes from Harris to Trump.
Election officers mentioned there have been no voting machine malfunctions. Voters had inadvertently touched the unsuitable space of the poll when utilizing the touchscreens.
The county obtained three complaints in regards to the problem at polling websites; finally, every one who had the problem forged a poll for the candidates of their selection.
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