Typo in Trump’s name on ballot review screen is not ‘election fraud’

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A misspelling of former President Donald Trump’s name appeared on an optional ballot screening screen in Virginia, prompting an unfounded claim on social media of “election fraud.” The error was a typo that appeared only on the ballot review screen, not on the actual ballots, and would not affect any votes, election officials said.

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Virginia’s voting process includes an optional ballot review screen that is designed to display the voter’s selections prior to voting. The optional screen helps voters check their choices and correct any errors.

But a video shared on social media showing a spelling mistake on a ballot review screen has raised unsubstantiated allegations of voter fraud in Virginia’s Washington County.

An October 29 post on Instagram shows a video of former President Donald Trump’s name misspelled as “Triumph” on a ballot review screen. The accompanying text claims: “This was a voter in Virginia 4 days ago. Why is there an I in Donald J Trump’s name?”

Account X RealAF Patriot impart the video with a message that read, “ELECTION FRAUD IN VIRGINIA!? A voter points out that Trump misspelled it as Triump. So the votes won’t count for Trump?” The post received more than 3 million views, according to the platform.

Andrea M. Gaines, a spokeswoman for the Virginia Department of Elections, told us in an email that the misspelling of Trump’s name occurred on equipment in Washington County. “We cannot confirm the origin of the video,” she said.

But Gaines said “the review screen does not affect the tabulation of ballots or the reporting of results.”

Derek N. Lyalldirector of elections and registrar general for Washington County, told us in an email, “All voters in Washington County have cast their ballots. The names of all the candidates are written correctly on the ballots.”

Lyall explained that the misspelling was a typographical error on the optional ballot review screen, which only activates if a voter specifically requests it before entering a ballot. “Of the more than 10,000 voters who cast their ballots in Washington County, fewer than twenty voters requested to use this optional ballot review screen,” he noted.

Lyall said the error was discovered too late to reprogram the voting equipment for the election. However, he said all voting equipment has been thoroughly tested and is working as intended. “Our equipment works as designed and compiles the ballots according to the voters’ choices. The single typo on the optional ballot review screen will have no effect on anyone’s vote,” he said.

Lyall also said a notice will be posted at each polling station informing voters of the error on Election Day.

Virginia voted for a Democrat in the last four presidential elections. In 2020, Trump lost the state by 10 percentage points, but won overwhelmingly Washington County with 75.6% of the vote.

Editor’s note: FactCheck.org is one of several organizations works with Facebook to debunk misinformation shared on social media. Our previous stories can be found Here. Facebook has no control over our editorial content.

source

270 to win. “Virginia: Recent Presidential Elections.” Accessed November 5, 2024.

Murphy, Joe. “Two charts and a map to help make sense of all the early voting data.” NBC News. November 4, 2024.

Gaines, Andrea. Director of External Affairs, Virginia Department of Elections. Email FactCheck.org. November 4, 2024.

Lyall, Derek N. Director of Elections and Registrar General, Washington County, Virginia. Email FactCheck.org. November 4, 2024.

Virginia Public Access Project. “Early voting in Virginia.” Accessed November 5, 2024.