Arizona Remains Epicenter for Post-Election Misinformation

An election worker removes tabulated ballots from a machine inside the Maricopa County Recorders Office on Thursday, Nov. 10, 2022, in Phoenix.

Associated Press
Arizona remained the epicenter for post-Election Day misinformation this week as vote counting in that state continued.

Many of the misleading claims circulating two days after the election focused on printing problems that prevented vote counters from reading some ballots. The mishap spawned conspiracy theories about vote rigging that spread despite explanations from local officials and assurances that all votes would be counted.

The rumors spread in part because people had legitimate questions about problems at the polls, said University of Washington professor Kate Starbird, a leading misinformation expert and part of the Election Integrity Partnership, a nonpartisan research group.

“The problem is when their audiences pick that up with this assumed voter fraud implication,” Starbird said. “It gets picked up and reframed as voter fraud as it spreads.” MORE