FACT CHECK: Viral Image Shows Outdated Voter Registration Numbers For 8 States

Elias Atienza | Senior Reporter

An image shared on Facebook claims multiple states had more votes cast than registered voters in the 2020 presidential election.

Verdict: False

The registered voter numbers are outdated. More recent data from the state governments show that ballots cast in the states have not exceeded the numbers of registered voters as of press time. The states have also not reported voter turnout over 100 percent.

Fact Check: 

The pictured table, which cites RealClearPolitics and World Population Review, claims to list the current number of registered voters in eight states: Nevada, Pennsylvania, Minnesota, North Carolina, Wisconsin, Michigan, Arizona and Georgia. In the table, all of the states except Georgia appear to show higher projected votes and voter turnout than registered voters, seemingly suggesting voter fraud in those states.

World Population Review previously displayed the numbers of registered voters from the Census Bureau’s “Voting and Registration in the Election of November 2018” but has since updated the page. The pictured table appears to draw its figures for registered voters from World Population Review’s old data.

All of the registered voter numbers in the table are outdated and lower than figures recently reported by the state governments. Here are the numbers of registered voters for each state:

Some of the states listed offer same-day voter registration, according to CBS News, meaning their registered voter numbers may be higher than the publicly available data. (RELATED: Viral Image Falsely Claims Wisconsin Had More Votes Cast Than Registered Voters)

While states are still counting ballots and, thus, their vote tallies may change, the number of votes cast in the eight states have not exceeded their numbers of registered voters at the time of publication. According to voting data from The Associated Press, here are the numbers of votes cast in each state as of 4 p.m. Eastern on Nov. 6:

  • Nevada: over 1.2 million votes
  • Pennsylvania: over 6.6 million votes
  • Minnesota: over 3.2 million votes
  • North Carolina: over 5.4 million votes
  • Wisconsin: nearly 3.3 million votes
  • Michigan: over 5.5 million votes
  • Arizona: over 3.1 million votes
  • Georgia: over 4.9 million votes

None of the states listed in the table have reported voter turnout over 100 percent, contrary to the post’s claim. The 2020 presidential election has seen high voter turnout, according to the Washington Post.

The Associated Press called the presidential race in Minnesota for former Vice President Joe Biden on Tuesday. On Wednesday, the outlet also called the races in Michigan and Wisconsin for Biden. Other states such as Georgia and Pennsylvania have not yet been called.

This fact check is available at IFCN’s 2020 US Elections FactChat #Chatbot on WhatsApp. Click here, for more.

Elias Atienza

Senior Reporter
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