Four viral claims of voting fraud fact checked

WASHINGTON: As millions of people cast their ballots in the US election, claims have been spreading online questioning the integrity of the vote.

Election officials have been quick to reject some accusations of voting malpractice, as well as clarifying some legitimate problems which have been taken out of context.

BBC Verify is tracking and investigating the most widely shared claims – here’s four.

First, an image on social media shows a person holding a mail-in ballot paper which they claim already had a mark next to Kamala Harris’s name.

The image was originally posted online a few days ago but it has been circulating again on election day.

The person who posted it on X claims that voting for anyone else would render the ballot void.

One post, viewed more than 3 million times, said the picture showed “weird ballot shenanigans happening”.

BBC Verify spoke to the Kentucky Board of Elections which rejected the allegation.

It said it had mailed out 130,000 ballots so far and had not been made aware of any complaints about mail-in ballots having pre-printed marks in any candidate selection boxes.

The election board added that for mail-in ballots in Kentucky if more than one candidate choice is marked in ink, then the ballot will still be counted if the voter circles their preferred choice.

Second, a post on X which claims “the Pentagon reportedly failed to send absentee ballots to active military service members before the election” has been viewed over 28 million times.

It references a letter to Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin, written by three Republican members of congress, expressing “grave concern” over “deficiencies” in procedures for overseas military personnel to vote.

However the letter does not accuse the Pentagon of failing to send them absentee ballots.

Third, officials in the US state of Pennsylvania have rejected claims that “illegal voters” were able to apply for ballots and vote at an election office in Allegheny County.

They released a statement after posts on X went viral, claiming to show “illegal voters” being guided past US voters who had been waiting in line.

Fourth, a video which appears to show someone repeatedly trying and failing to vote for Donald Trump on a voting machine in Laurel County, Kentucky – before a vote appears next to Kamala Harris’s name – has gone viral.

The person posting it says: “I hit Trump’s name 10 times and it wouldn’t work I then began recording and you can see what happened…. Switched it to Harris.”