As expected, conservatives began Election Day by immediately suggesting that a grand conspiracy was in the works to deprive the Republican Party of votes. And while the vast majority of such claims are coming from the right wing, false allegations surrounding the midterms are being spread on the left as well.
Amid viral allegations from conservatives on Tuesday that technical issues with some voting machines in Arizona were part of an effort by Democrats to derail the election, left-leaning accounts were busy promoting conspiracy theories of their own.
The popular left-wing media outlet Occupy Democrats, known for spreading sensationalist claims on social media, also suggested on Sunday that a “MAGA Republican” may have issued a bomb threat at a polling station in New York City in order to “suppress Black and brown voters.”
“BREAKING: An East Harlem polling place is temporarily closed and the doors chained after someone calls in a bomb threat — possibly a MAGA Republican hoping to suppress Black and brown voters,” the account said. “RT TO DEMAND A FULL INVESTIGATION!”
The tweet was quickly shared nearly 8,000 times and was seen as evidence by some that the polling station had been targeted for political reasons.
But as the facts came in, it was revealed that the bomb threat was not politically motivated. It turns out that the polling station, according to the New York Police Department, was located at an educational complex. A student had called in the bomb threat in order to avoid going to class that day.
Numerous fact-checkers, including CNN’s Daniel Dale, attempted to slow the spread of the false claim.
“The ‘MAGA Republican’ part of this is fiction,” Dale wrote. “The polling place is at an educational complex. Per the NYPD, the threat scare came from a student who didn’t want to go to school.”
As is often the case, the tweet containing accurate information struggled to gain the attention that the original false claim did. Dale’s tweet ultimately earned under 300 retweets in total.
Despite the claim, the tweet from Occupy Democrats remains online without any update or correction.
Other internet rumors have been shared as well. One tweet, which does appear to have been deleted, claimed that voting machines in Texas were switching votes from Democrats to Republicans.
“Texas GOP up to the same dirty tricks,” one user said.
Election officials noted that the issue, which was reported by a small number of voters, was caused by user error. Midland County Election Administrator Carolyn Graves told the Texas Tribune that voters should always double-check their selections given that voting machine touch screens can be overly sensitive.
“If you don’t hit it just exactly right, you’re gonna hit one of the letters around it,” Graves said. “It’s essentially the same thing. If you don’t hit it with the tip of your finger or turn your finger to the side, then you could hit the other [choice].”
At the end of the day, conspiracy theories regarding elections are much more prominent and widespread among conservatives. But all conspiracy theories, including those from the left, weaken the public trust in the democratic process.
