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Fast Take
Some states had been nonetheless counting ballots weeks after Election Day in accordance with their rules, state officers and an election regulation knowledgeable stated. However an Instagram publish misleadingly implied that the continuing vote counts had been proof of some unspecified election malfeasance.
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The 2024 presidential election was called by the Related Press for President-elect Donald Trump the day after the Nov. 5 common election. Trump received 312 electoral college votes, defeating Vice President Kamala Harris, who acquired 226.
Outcomes introduced by the media on Election Day or shortly after are projections, and at all times have been, factoring in a mix of the votes that had been reported, exit polling and different statistics, Justin Levitt, an elections regulation knowledgeable at Loyola Marymount College’s regulation college, instructed us in an e-mail. However they don’t seem to be official election outcomes, which can’t happen till all eligible votes are counted. Most state legal guidelines give native election officers two to 3 weeks to formally certify election returns, Levitt stated.
“Within the nation’s historical past, there has actually by no means been an official presidential election consequence on Election Evening,” Levitt stated. “Native election officers aren’t legally permitted to resolve elections based mostly on projections, which is why we don’t simply award the election to the one that’s main within the polls.”
However Trump and other Republicans and conservative commentators, equivalent to Turning Level USA founder Charlie Kirk, for years have made false and unfounded accusations of dishonest by the Democrats in presidential elections.
Trump, as an illustration, repeatedly made baseless, false and deceptive claims that the 2020 presidential election was “rigged,” citing conspiracies involving the Division of Justice, Dominion Voting Techniques and native election officers, as we’ve previously written.
After the 2024 election, a Nov. 18 Instagram publish shared a screenshot of a publish on X that stated: “Arizona remains to be counting votes… Georgia remains to be counting votes… California remains to be counting votes… Pennsylvania remains to be counting votes… North Carolina remains to be counting votes… CAN YOU SEE WHAT THEY ARE DOING?”
The Instagram publish acquired practically 13,000 likes, and a few feedback on the publish claimed it was proof of dishonest and election fraud.
The unique publish on X additionally got here from an account, @CharlieKNews, that named itself Charlie Kirk Information, utilizing a photograph of Kirk as its avatar. The publish has since been taken down. Andrew Kolvet, a spokesperson for Turning Level Motion, the political advocacy arm of Turning Level USA, instructed us in an e-mail that the publish from @CharlieKNews “just isn’t run by Charlie Kirk or his group. It’s a fan account and we don’t know what they imply.”
Influence Potential on Downballot Races
Election officers are required to depend every legitimate poll, Levitt stated. That course of is comparatively fast for many ballots however could be slower for mail, abroad and provisional ballots that require some further work in figuring out whether or not they’re really legitimate, he stated.
There have been nonetheless hundreds of thousands of ballots that wanted to be counted as of Nov. 22, nearly all of which had been abroad ballots or checks on provisional ballots. “We’re very a lot on observe for that to occur on time, precisely because it’s purported to,” Levitt stated.
There was a momentary delay within the counting of votes in Pennsylvania because of a authorized dispute, by which the state Supreme Court docket on Nov. 18 directed county election officials to not depend some mail-in ballots that arrived on time however had been in envelopes that included handwritten dates that had been incorrect.
“Exterior of that, there’s no ‘delay’ in any respect,” stated Levitt, referring to the counting of votes nationwide all through the final election.
There’s additionally “no prospect” that the variety of excellent ballots that also should be counted will change the general presidential election winner in any state, Levitt stated.
Nevertheless, the uncounted ballots might resolve different downballot races with smaller vote margins. That features the race for California’s forty fifth Congressional District the place, as of Nov. 22, Democratic candidate Derek Tran was main Republican candidate Michelle Metal by only a few hundred votes.
“These margins are precisely why we take the time to depend each legitimate poll, slightly than simply declaring a consequence that we’re undecided about,” Levitt stated. “Native election officers in the entire states are working methodically via a really cautious course of to get the ultimate depend proper, precisely as they need to be.”
Election Workplaces Observe State Legal guidelines
Election workplaces in every of the 5 states listed within the social media publish have all stated both to us or in publicly obtainable posts, press releases or movies that their ballot-counting processes are transferring ahead as anticipated and in accordance with their respective state legal guidelines.
“Georgia has been performed [counting its ballots] for over per week now,” Robert Sinners, spokesperson for Georgia’s secretary of state, instructed us in an e-mail. He stated Georgia’s deadline for counties to finish their counting and certify their votes was Nov. 12 — six days earlier than the Nov. 18 Instagram publish.
The state launched an audit of the presidential election on Nov. 14 that hand-counted randomly chosen ballots in every of Georgia’s 159 counties. The state introduced the outcomes of the audit on Nov. 20.
“Election denialism wants to finish, now,” Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger instructed us in an announcement. “We’re a rustic of legal guidelines and ideas, not of males and personalities. Do your job! Observe the regulation. Settle for election outcomes or lose your nation.”
It usually takes about 10 to 13 days for Arizona to tabulate all its ballots, Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes stated in a Nov. 16 video posted on X.
As of the morning of Nov. 19, about 6,000 ballots wanted to be counted in Arizona’s Yuma County, JP Martin, a spokesperson for the Arizona secretary of state, instructed us in an e-mail. The workplace was anticipating a recount for one legislative district, and there could also be different native races that might require recounts that will be carried out on the county degree, Martin added.
As of Nov. 14, California wanted to course of and confirm eligibility of about 1.8 million ballots, stated Secretary of State Shirley Weber throughout a press conference that day. By Nov. 22, the estimated variety of uncounted ballots was right down to greater than 315,000, according to the secretary of state’s web site.
The prolonged timeline for processing votes in California was anticipated as a result of state’s guidelines and rules, Weber stated.
California will obtain its very first depend from the entire state’s 58 counties on Dec. 6, Weber stated. The secretary of state will then have per week to certify the state’s outcomes on Dec. 13.
“California’s election course of is designed with a core dedication to recognizing and principally precisely counting each eligible vote that comes into our workplace,” Weber stated. “This method includes a sequence of rigorous checks and safeguards, together with signature verification, machine audits and guide counts.”
There was no delay in counting the votes in Pennsylvania, Matt Heckel, press secretary on the Pennsylvania Division of State, instructed us in an e-mail. Ultimate election outcomes have by no means been finalized on election night time since “processing and counting tens of millions of ballots takes time,” Heckel stated.
Official ends in Pennsylvania might be licensed in spite of everything ballots have been adjudicated, together with provisional, absentee and mail ballots that want identifications verified, in addition to absentee ballots from army and abroad civilian voters, Heckel stated.
By Nov. 12, when Pennsylvania counties reported their unofficial returns, 60,366 provisional ballots and 20,155 mail-in and absentee ballots remained uncounted. County boards additionally wanted to make last resolutions about which of these ballots are legitimate and eligible, Heckel added.
Heckel stated the Division of State wouldn’t have any up to date uncounted poll numbers until Nov. 25, when county elections boards are required to certify their returns with the secretary of the commonwealth.
By Nov. 15, last votes had been counted in practically all of North Carolina’s counties, Patrick Gannon, spokesperson for the state’s board of elections, instructed us in an e-mail.
Nevertheless, as of Nov. 19, some counties had been nonetheless going via their analysis on provisional ballots to find out which needs to be counted, he stated. And a few counties nonetheless wanted to “reopen their canvasses” to take away ballots in instances the place early voters had been deemed ineligible to vote as a result of they didn’t verify their deal with after they registered, Gannon stated.
North Carolina state regulation requires provisional ballots and a few absentee ballots to be counted after Election Day and earlier than the county canvass – the day county elections boards meet to certify their outcomes – which occurred 10 days after the election on Nov. 15, Gannon stated.
“It’s inconceivable to depend eligible ballots that election officers wouldn’t have but,” he stated.
Just a few contests all through the state are eligible for recounts. That features native races and the race for North Carolina’s State Supreme Court docket seat, by which incumbent Democrat Allison Riggs held a roughly 600-vote lead over Republican challenger Jefferson Griffin.
However, in response to Gannon, the variety of uncounted ballots just isn’t sufficient to flip any contest.
Editor’s be aware: FactCheck.org is considered one of a number of organizations working with Meta to debunk misinformation shared on social media. Our earlier tales could be discovered here. Meta has no control over our editorial content material.
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