Allies of former President Trump have been collecting incidents online that they believe could show evidence of voter fraud — most notably on X, formerly Twitter, where a community organized by its owner Elon Musk's super PAC boasts more than 50,000 members.
There, people share stories of suspicious-seeming incidents, such as seeing an unusual number of voter registrations at one address or problems with a voting machine. While many of those incidents have straightforward explanations or quick remedies, these communities, which include prominent political figures and influencers, consistently frame them as confirmation that large-scale voter fraud is underway.
Compared with 2020, those who may challenge the election results are more prepared to leverage the material this time around, said Kate Starbird, a professor at the University of Washington and co-founder of its Center for an Informed Public, which is tracking election rumors.
"There are lawyers at the ready to go take these rumors, misperceptions, misinterpretations, convert those into affidavits on Election Day or the days following, and try to use that either to contest whether certain votes are counted ... or to use that to try to pressure election officials and others not to certify results," Starbird said.
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