FACT CHECK: Viral X Image Shows Ballots From 2020, Not 2024
A viral image shared on X purports to show piles of 2024 election ballots.
Screenshot captured via X
Verdict: False
The original image, which stems from Alamy and was also featured in an article from The Associated Press re-published by the Boston Globe, shows ballots in 2020, not 2024.
Fact Check:
The final set of New York Times/Siena College polls found that 2024 Democratic nominee Vice President Kamala Harris leads 2024 Republican nominee and former President Donald Trump in three states, including North Carolina, according to the outlet. Alternatively, the same polls show Trump leads Harris in Arizona, the outlet reported.
The X image, which has received over 70,000 views as of writing, purports to show piles of 2024 election ballots. “For my next trick, I’m going to make all of these Donald Trump and Mark Robinson ballots disappear. Happy #ElectionDay #NCPol,” the post’s caption reads.
The claim is false, as the image originally stems from the stock image website “Alamy.”
“Town Clerk Barbara Thompson gets ready to bring nearly 7,000 absentee ballots to the post office from Wallingford Town Hall, Friday, Oct. 2, 2020, in Wallingford, Conn. Last Friday was the first day ballots could be mailed out for the November general election. The ballots were transported by pickup truck with a covered bed,” the image’s caption reads.
In addition, the same image was featured in a November 2020 article from The Associated Press that was re-published by the Boston Globe. The article highlighted large numbers of voters who were expected to vote in-person in Connecticut amid the global COVID-19 pandemic.
Check Your Fact compared the viral image shared on X with the original image from Alamy, and the version that appears on X is cropped. Thompson, the town clerk who appears in the original image, is noticeably absent in the viral version of the image shared on X. (RELATED: Facebook Video Does Not Show ‘Ballot Mule’ In Lincoln, Nebraska)
Furthermore, Lead Stories labeled the claim as false, citing the original image on Alamy.
This is not the first time a false claim about the 2024 presidential election has circulated online. Check Your Fact previously debunked a post shared on X that claimed the Department of Justice found more than 300 cases of voting for money schemes.
