Eric Trump uses wrong numbers to claim 'voter fraud' in Wisconsin
Donald Trump’s son appeared to misunderstand how voter turnout is determined in the Badger State.
Posts shared thousands of times on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram are falsely claiming that the number of people who cast ballots in Wisconsin exceeds the number of registered voters in the state.
A variety of misleading claims about voter turnout in Wisconsin gained traction, generating likes, shares or comments by the hundreds of thousands, after Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden pulled off a narrow win Wednesday in the battleground state.
The posts fueled charges that the vote had been mismanaged in a crucial swing state in the U.S. election.
“Looks like fraud!” Eric Trump, Donald Trump’s son, wrote in a post shared to his Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter accounts.
The image Eric Trump shared in his post claimed that there was a huge, inexplicable increase in voter turnout in Wisconsin this year. The image showed voter turnout percentages during presidential elections over the last 20 years in Wisconsin, with voter turnout hitting 89.25% this year. But in previous years, the post claimed incorrectly, turnout had only hovered between 67% to 73%.
The image is based on faulty accounting of voter turnout in the state.
The Wisconsin Elections Commission calculates voter turnout based on the entire voting-age population, not just registered voters. Any eligible person over the age of 18 can show up at a poll and register to vote on Election Day.
As of Thursday, the number of votes cast looked to be nearly 3.3 million, the highest ever in Wisconsin. That puts turnout at roughly 72% of the voting-age population. In 2004 the turnout was higher, with 73% of the voting-age population showing up to vote.
Other social media users pushed claims of voter fraud in the state by wrongly suggesting that the number of ballots cast exceeded the number of registered voters.
One Twitter user wrongly claimed “fraud” and said that only 3,129,000 people were registered to vote in the state. That was the voter registration figure right before the 2018 midterm elections. But as of 7 p.m. on Sunday, the Wisconsin Elections Commission reported 3,684,726 registered voters.
And that figure — well above the 3,239,920 votes that were cast — does not include people who might have registered to vote on Election Day.
In other words, no fraud at play, just social media posts that relied on outdated numbers.
The Wisconsin Elections Commission received “a lot of calls” about the false rumors, said the state’s top elections official Meagan Wolfe.
“Wisconsin does not have more votes than registered voters,” Wolfe said. “Share the facts, rather than speculation or rumors.”
Recommended
New NC GOP chair flirts with bogus stolen election conspiracies
Simmons predecessor was a staunch 2020 election denier
By Jesse Valentine - April 19, 2024Texas activists pushed abortion restrictions in NM cities and counties, records show
Emails reveal influence and control in exchange for promises of legal help
By Austin Fisher, Source NM - March 04, 2024Cannabis workers across Missouri begin push to unionize dispensaries
The first day was a breeze. Sean Shannon and Danny Foster walked into several marijuana dispensaries around Missouri with their matching “Union For Cannabis Workers” shirts and talked to employees about the possibility of unionizing. “The first day, there were 57 stops amongst the teams,” said Shannon, lead organizer with UFCW Local 655, which actually […]
By Rebecca Rivas - December 04, 2023