Debunked fraud allegations that circled around the 2020 presidential election have returned for the midterms, many of them amplified by current candidates and former President Donald Trump.
The country never recovered from Trump’s “Big Lie” that he won the 2020 election, despite all evidence to the contrary—some 40 percent of Americans still believe the election won by President Joe Biden was rigged or stolen, according to a poll conducted by Redfield & Wilton Strategies on behalf of Newsweek.
Here are some of the misinformation campaigns and conspiracy theories resurfacing around the midterm elections.
‘Expect the Steal’
Conspiracy theorists have seized on various parts of the voting process to preemptively discredit election results. Echoing the January 6 warcry of “Stop the steal,” the Trump-endorsed fake news site Revolver News—run by former Trump aide Darren Beattie—published the headline “Expect the Steal” on Monday.
Mechanical issues with voting machines on Tuesday morning were quickly spun into claims about systemic voter fraud.
In Arizona’s Maricopa County, about 20 percent of polling sites experienced issues with tabulation machines. The Maricopa County Elections Department announced that technicians were called in to solve the issue and said that voters could still place their ballots in a secure box to be counted later.
An analyst from Insikt Group, the threat research division of cybersecurity firm Recorded Future, told Newsweek that the technical problems were not likely caused by deliberate interference.
“Based on what we’ve seen with Maricopa County, we don’t have indications at present that the issues with the ballot counters are intentional,” said the firm.
But that didn’t stop the torrent of conspiracy theories on Twitter, promoted by prominent figures including Blake Masters, Arizona’s Republican Senate nominee.
“Hard to know if we’re seeing incompetence or something worse,” tweeted Masters. “All we know right now is that the Democrats are hoping you will get discouraged and go home.”
Trump fed the flames of voter anxiety on his Truth Social account, writing, “Maricopa County in Arizona looks like a complete Voter Integrity DISASTER. Likewise Detroit (of course!), Pennsylvania, and other places. Not being covered by the Fake News Media!”
Counting Votes
Trump also disseminated doubts about the time needed to count ballots, calling it “outrageous” that Pennsylvania might take days to determine a winner. In 2020, a “red mirage” of early votes that gave Trump the lead became central to his false claim of winning the election.
Revolver News echoed this conspiracy theory, writing, “The regime has already spent months setting its preferred narrative for how election night will unfold. Just like in 2020, it is propagandizing the public about how ‘perfectly normal’ it is to take ages to count votes.”
On Monday, the National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS) and the National Association of State Election Directors (NASED) pleaded with voters and media organizations to be patient while waiting for all votes to be counted.
Election night results are “always unofficial,” the organizations said in a joint statement, as officials will continue to count provisional ballots, mail ballots and ballots from military and overseas voters in the days and weeks to come.
“This critical process is normal, as it takes time to accurately tabulate millions of ballots,” they said. “Some races will be close and may require a recount or a recanvass, depending on the state, but every eligible ballot will be counted as cast.”
‘Sharpiegate’
“Sharpiegate,” built on the false idea that voters’ ballots won’t count if they use a sharpie pen, is another conspiracy theory returning from 2020.
The Gateway Pundit, a fake news website, published a story on Tuesday with the headline: “ILLINOIS: Voters Told to Use Sharpie Pen Provided or Their Vote May Not Count!”
Voters have taken to Twitter with fears that offered sharpie pens are part of a scam to discount their votes, while “sharpiegate” has started trending on Truth Social.
“SharpieGate is real…they tried to force my husband to use one!!” wrote a Twitter user.
The Illinois State Board of Elections debunked the conspiracy theory and attempted to dispel anxieties on Twitter.
“If you’re given a felt-tip pen today while voting, don’t be concerned. Many voting systems prefer them as a ballot marking device,” the agency tweeted.
