Even in the days leading up to the 2022 midterm election, social media claims continue to cast doubt on the certified outcome of the 2020 presidential race.
Seth Keshel, a former Army captain who has spread unfounded claims of election fraud in the past, described Washington state as having the "most fraudulent election" that year in a Nov. 1 Telegram post that was viewed more than 20,000 times in three days.
“With 590,000 excess votes spread over 12 electors, that comes out to 49,000+ fraudulent votes per elector,” reads Keshel's post, which was included in a Nov. 1 Instagram post that received more than 200 likes in one day.
But experts told USA TODAY the claim is baseless. Washington state’s general election results show fewer votes than registered voters, and there is no evidence those tallies were affected by fraud.
Similar claims about the 2020 presidential election have been repeatedly debunked.
USA TODAY reached out to Keshel and the social media user who shared the claim for comment.
James Long, a political science professor at the University of Washington, told USA TODAY there is “no substance” to the claim.
He noted the post didn’t include its definition of “excess votes," but that it could imply a higher number of recorded votes than registered voters.
He pointed to the state’s publicly available 2020 general...
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