Claims of voter fraud and election interference began during early voting, after years of unfounded claims about the outcome of the 2020 presidential race.

Former president Donald Trump continues to insist that he won the 2020 election, even though this claim has been repeatedly rejected in court and by independent election experts. A recent study by the Brookings Institute think tank concluded that the fraudulent vote share in elections over the past 25 years was “tiny.”

However, a video showing a Kentucky voter struggling to select a candidate on a touch screen has been treated as alleged evidence of “election interference” on social media.

The complaint

A post on X, formerly Twitterby user @AmericaPapaBear, October 31, 2024, viewed 6.1 million times, said: “BREAKING

“Voting machines in Kentucky literally change Donald Trump’s vote into Kamala Harris.

“This is ELECTION INTERFERENCE!

“Share this video so everyone can see it!”

The post showed what looked like someone trying to select Donald Trump on a voting screen, but instead highlighting Kamala Harris.

The facts

Although the video is real, there is no evidence of election interference. The issue was reported to election officials at the location where the video was recorded and resolved.

According to the Kentucky newspaper Leader of the Lexington HeraldThe problem was reported in Laurel County earlier this week.

The county clerk, Republican Tony Brown, said on Facebook that the attorney general’s office visited the voting center in response and found that the highlighting of the wrong box was due to areas between the candidates.

Brown said the machine was a ballot marking device, whereby voters inserted their ballot into a machine from which they could select the candidate, post a video on Facebook of the machine operating correctly.

Once voters have made their choice, their ballot is returned to them. They can review their choice by placing it in a scanner.

“It’s the same machine the voter used in the video,” Brown said. “It remained in its location in the voting center and was placed face down on the floor until the representative from the Attorney General’s Office arrived to investigate. No problems were reported with the device before, and no since its return to service. The voter who posted the video voted and, according to her, it was correct.”

Brown added: “I hate that this happened here in Laurel County. »

In a tracking videoin which he demonstrated how to use the ballot marking machine, he said that while tapping the wrong part of the screen might highlight the wrong candidate, voters could go back and correct their mistake.

The decision

FAKE.

The video does not constitute evidence of election interference.

The county clerk where the video was recorded said the problem was caused by tapping the wrong part of the screen, an error that could be corrected by selecting the intended candidate.

The person who posted the video confirmed to the county clerk that their vote was recorded correctly.

FACT CHECK BY Newsweek’s Fact Check Team