Machines don’t switch votes: The false claims seeking to tarnish the US election

Outside a polling station in the Texas city of Fort Worth, in Tarrant County, a voter supporting former president Donald Trump reported that the machine had changed his vote. A video of the incident went viral, sparking a wave of accusations against the electoral process. In response, electoral authorities issued a statement clarifying that only one in every 58,000 ballots cast on the first day of early voting (October 21) was misprinted due to voter error. However, by that point, the misinformation had already begun to spread.

“Tarrant County’s voting system electronically marks a voter’s candidate selections and prints a final paper ballot for review before the ballot is cast,” the statement explains, arguing that there is “no reason to believe that votes are being switched by the voting system.” It adds: “The Tarrant County Elections Department highly encourages voters to confirm their selections on the physical paper ballot before placing it into the scanner to be counted.”

Similar complaints were made in from states like Tennessee and Georgia. In Georgia — a key swing state in the November 5 elections — Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene alleged that a voting machine changed a ballot in Whitfield County, north of Atlanta.

In response, the Board of Elections and Dominion Voting Systems — the manufacturer of the machines —, said that the issue stemmed from voter error and was addressed while the voter was still at the polling center. “Humans make mistakes. They’re called mistakes for a reason,” Gabriel Sterling, the chief operating officer in the office of Georgia’s Secretary of State, posted on his X account. “Anyone claiming machines are flipping votes are lying or don’t research. This issue is human/user error.”

The allegations haven’t just come from the Republican side. Democratic Congressman Antonio Parkinson also reported claims of vote tampering in Shelby County, Tennessee. However, the local Election Commission denied any voting irregularities, urging voters to carefully review their ballots before submitting them.

A longstanding controversy

In the 2020 election, Donald Trump also made unfounded claims against voting machines, without providing any evidence to support his allegations. Both Dominion Voting Systems and Smartmatic, the two primary manufacturers, filed defamation lawsuits against individuals and media outlets that propagated false information. Notably, Fox News had to pay Dominion over $787 million for spreading baseless accusations.

In 2024, businessman Elon Musk has emerged as one of the most vocal critics of voting machines, questioning their integrity and calling for them to be banned. However, Derek Tisler, an advisor to the Brennan Center’s Elections and Government Program — a progressive, non-profit watchdog — reassured CBS that there is little to fear from these machines, which undergo rigorous testing both before and after the election. “Election officials will review a sample of these paper records after the election to confirm voting machine tallies,” he said. These audits serve as a key safeguard for voting in the United States. Around 98% of votes cast in the upcoming November 5 election will have a paper record.

Tisler added that issues like frozen screens or jammed ballot scanners are far more common than any form of “malicious” interference or hacking. Experts underscore the importance of voters verifying their ballots and ensuring their selections are correct before submitting them. Electoral authorities are also well-equipped to address any incidents that may arise.

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