In Search of Voter Fraud in 2020

As the House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol began its hearings, Deputy Managing Editor Robert Farley did a deep dive on "2000 Mules," a film by conservative activist Dinesh D’Souza.

The film, which is playing in select theaters around the country, uses cell phone data and surveillance video in an attempt to show that there was “coordinated, systematic fraud" in five key states in the 2020 presidential election -- perpetrated by "mules" who allegedly collected and dropped off illegal mail ballots in drop boxes.  

But, as Rob explains, the supposed evidence is speculative and does not provide the proof that the filmmakers claim.

So far, the Georgia Board of Elections has investigated and dismissed three cases brought to the board by the filmmakers. In all three cases, the so-called "mules" were dropping off legitimate ballots for immediate family members who live in the same household. That's legal under Georgia's law.

As we have written many times before, election fraud is rare. And as we heard this week, even former President Donald Trump's own attorney general, William Barr, said he doesn't believe the claims of widespread fraud. 

In taped testimony played at the committee's June 9 hearing, Barr recalled his conversations with Trump in late 2020: "I did not agree with the idea of saying the election was stolen and putting out this stuff, which I told the President was bullshit. And, you know, I didn't want to be a part of it. And that's one of the reasons that went into me deciding to leave when I did."

For more about the film, see "Evidence Gaps in '2000 Mules'."  

Reader: Just because you say that these fires are not a sign of something else doesn’t make your side true. ["Unfounded Claims About Frequency and Causes of Food Plant Fires," May 4.] We as a country have watched theory after theory become reality before our very eyes, the FACT is that your Hitler style media site can’t afford for any person with a brain to start convincing any of your little flocks of sheep, so carry on with your BS because far more people with the brains to think for themselves  know that the FAKE FACT CHECKERS are a group of yellow belly cowards who couldn’t fight their way out of a wet paper bag. 

FactCheck.org Director Eugene Kiely: We didn’t say anyone’s side is true or false. We said that there is “no evidence” that the fires were purposefully set in order to disrupt the food supply. That’s a fact. If evidence does come to light that would change our findings, we will update our story. 

We aren’t “fake fact checkers,” or part of any “Hitler style media.” We interviewed the experts and reviewed the data. It’s called reporting, and the reporter – Saranac Hall Spencer – did a good job. She spoke to the National Fire Protection Association and reviewed the data from the National Fire Incident Reporting System. She also reached out to some of the companies effected, including General Mills, Gem State Processing, Rio Fresh and Penobscot McCrum LLC. 

It’s unfortunate that instead of accepting or rejecting factual information from a nonpartisan source that you would choose instead to attack us with such over-the-top language. I don’t understand it. 

Wrapping Up

Here's what else we've got for you this week:

• "Republican TV Ad Makes False Claim About ‘Dead’ Voters": An illegal ballot cast on behalf of a deceased voter is rare, and we could find no examples of it occurring in Michigan in 2020 or 2016. Yet, a Republican gubernatorial candidate in Michigan falsely claims in a TV ad that “dead people always vote Democrat,” and misleadingly suggests it is a widespread problem in his state.
• "Illinois School District’s Shift to Equitable Grading Is Misrepresented Online": A school district in Illinois is considering implementing “equitable grading,” which would focus more on evaluating student learning than class participation or homework. A conservative website misrepresented the idea as a “race-based grading system” in a story that went viral. The equitable grading system would apply to all students.
• "Ad Misleads on Percentage Increase in Fentanyl Seizures Under Biden": The overall increase in fentanyl seized at the southwest border under President Joe Biden is nowhere near as high as a Republican ad misleadingly claims. U.S. border officials seized 13,021 pounds of the drug in Biden’s first full 15 months in office, which is 70% more than the 7,677 pounds seized in Donald Trump’s last full 15 months as president. 
• "Vaccinated People Not More Susceptible to COVID-19 Than Unvaccinated": Are vaccinated and boosted people more susceptible to infection or disease with the omicron variant than unvaccinated people? Ask SciCheck answers that question, which was prompted in part by a misleading account of COVID-19 testing data at Walgreens. 
• "Social Media Posts Falsely Attribute Statement on Gasoline Prices to Nonexistent ‘BP Oil Executive’": A supply and demand imbalance, exacerbated by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, led to a surge in gasoline prices. But an online statement attributed to a supposed “BP Oil Executive” blames gasoline prices on U.S. dependence on foreign oil. BP told us the statement did not come from anyone at the company. 
• "Posts Misrepresent Status of Paul Pelosi’s DUI Charges": Paul Pelosi, the husband of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, was arrested for alleged drunken driving on May 28. Posts on social media falsely claim that the DUI charges against Pelosi have been dropped. But the Napa County District Attorney’s Office said the case is still under review and no decision has been made on the charges. 

• "‘Píldora electrónica’ aprobada por la FDA no ‘prueba’ la conspiración del ‘microchip’ de la vacuna contra el COVID-19": Las vacunas contra el COVID-19 no contienen microchips y sus listas de ingredientes son fácilmente accesibles. Pero publicaciones en redes sociales utilizan un antiguo video del director general de Pfizer hablando de una ‘píldora electrónica’ para dar la falsa impresión de que estaba confirmando la teoría de conspiración sobre microchips en las vacunas.