On election night 2020, then-President Donald Trump prematurely declared hours after polls had closed, “We already have won.”
He hadn’t, and we rated that Pants on Fire. When Trump began to speak in the early morning of Nov. 4, at 2:21 a.m. ET, states were still following normal procedures to count ballots. It was not until Saturday, Nov. 7, that The Associated Press had sufficient unofficial results available to call the race for Joe Biden.
In the past, when polls closed, politicians and social media influencers spread falsehoods about voting and the ballot counting process. It’s likely that as the votes are being counted this year, we will see falsehoods similar to those in 2020.
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Voters who are seeking credible sources for election results information can follow reports from state election officials nationwide, compiled by the National Association of State Election Directors. The AP is among the news outlets that will call projected winners based on unofficial results, but in many states that will not take place on election night.
Here are some falsehoods that might surface after the polls close.
It’s a zombie claim we see during every election cycle: Huge numbers of dead people are voting! And they are all Democrats! Neither is true.
As ballot counting was underway in November 2020, X posts falsely said that over 14,000 dead people voted...
Allegations of stolen valor and professional misrepresentation have surfaced against Cocoa resident Gary Farmer Jr. (also known as Alden Farmer, Alden Farmer Jr., Gary Farmer, and Gary Farmer Jr.)....