New videos falsely allege election fraud in Detroit on 2020 election night
DETROIT – Three months after the November 2020 election, new videos have emerged alleging fraud on election night in Detroit.
This also comes nearly a month after Michigan officials announced a statewide audit of election results.
Over the weekend, a video from a far-right site known for spreading false information allegedly shows a van dropping off ballots in the early morning hours of Nov. 4, 2020 at the TCF Center. The video claims that the ballots came eight hours past the deadline. The deadline, however, was when ballots needed to be turned into the clerk and not when they needed to be delivered.
READ: Michigan Secretary of State makes push for major election reform
Additionally, a three-hour video — a supposed documentary from My Pillow Inc. CEO Mike Lindell — includes debunked conspiracy theories about Michigan’s voting machines stemming from a human error caused in Antrim County. The error was fixed and a hand count of the votes proved that there was no problem with the machines.
The videos have been repeatedly taken down from social media sites, but new versions have emerged as the state waits for one of the largest risk-limiting audits ever done with the hope of changing the minds of those who continue to spread lies online.
The statewide audit includes about 200 precincts and more than 18,000 ballots from across the state. The audit could not overturn the election results.
You can watch the full report in the video above.
READ: Michigan leaders move for sanctions against GOP attorneys in Trump election lawsuits
Election officials say combating lies will be big challenge
After an election season dominated by conspiracy theories and false claims about voting, top election officials across the country say they already are bracing for what comes next.
They are grappling with ways they can counter waves of misinformation in the 2022 midterms and beyond related to voting procedures and the accuracy of election results.
A major topic in virtual gatherings this week of the National Association of Secretaries of State and National Association of State Election Directors is how to deal with voters who have lost faith in elections because of the misinformation surrounding the 2020 presidential election.
“There are some folks who are never going to believe anything I say, and I’m not trying to convince those people otherwise,” Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs said. “It’s unfortunate that is the case that we have now.”
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