Fact checking Election Day 2024 claims

Throughout Election Day and night, CBS News' Confirmed squad will beryllium truth checking reports of threats astir voting today, voter fraud, election hacking, and much arsenic nan federation votes and waits to spot whether Vice President Kamala Harris and erstwhile President Donald Trump will beryllium nan 47th president of nan United States., CBS News' afloat sum of nan predetermination is here.

False: Elon Musk claimed Google intentionally manipulating hunt results successful favour of Harris 

X proprietor Elon Musk posted, past deleted, a surface signaling comparing nan Google searches. The station reached complete 2.5 cardinal views earlier its removal, pinch different posts garnering thousands of views.

Details: Google said searches for "where to ballot for Harris" yielded a polling location representation because Harris is besides nan sanction of a region successful Texas, not because of bias for nan Democratic candidate.

Searching for "where to ballot for Trump" returned news articles and modular hunt results, while "where to ballot for Vance" produced a akin polling locations representation because Vance is nan sanction of a region successful North Carolina.

Google adjusted its algorithm Tuesday to forestall candidate-related queries from returning polling maps. Google trends data show that searching "where to vote" is simply a overmuch much communal query than searching wherever to ballot for either Trump aliases Harris.

By Julia Ingram and Layla Ferris

False: Social media posts declare Milwaukee mayor, a Democrat, said nan city's votes would not beryllium counted connected predetermination night

On X, users claimed that nan Democratic politician of Milwaukee said astatine a news convention that Milwaukee would not beryllium counting ballots tonight.

Details: Votes successful Milwaukee will beryllium tabulated coming contempt posts connected nan societal media level X that person pushed a mendacious declare that Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson said votes successful nan metropolis won't beryllium counted connected predetermination night.

In reality, ballot counting started Tuesday greeting and will proceed precocious into Tuesday nighttime aliases early Wednesday greeting astatine nan city's alleged "central count" location, according to Johnson's communications director, Jeff Fleming.
"They've already started tabulating, and had tabulated thousands of ballots by this afternoon," Fleming said. "The ballot totals exceeded our original projections, truthful nan workload astatine cardinal count is higher than expected."

Milwaukee's votes tin return longer to count for respective reasons, Barry Burden, Director of nan University of Wisconsin's Elections Research Center, said.

"It's nan biggest city, and it has nan astir ballots, and it besides counts absentee ballots astatine a cardinal location," Burden said. "That'll beryllium aft midnight, 1 (a.m.) aliases 2 a.m."

The city's much than 200 predetermination workers started counting votes astatine 9 a.m. Tuesday morning, Fleming said. They'll proceed nan tabulation overnight, and ballots will beryllium delivered to region clerks either nan adjacent time aliases nan time after, depending connected section rules.

By Chris Hacker

Spreadsheet correction corrected: GOP U.S. House campaigner says Harris County, Texas, early ballot results showed large drops and spikes successful early voting

U.S. House campaigner Caroline Kane, a Republican moving successful Texas' 7th District, posted connected X Monday that Harris County's early ballot results showed important drops and spikes successful nan number of early voters for respective voting locations betwixt Sunday and Monday, which should not beryllium possible.

Details: Election officials said a misaligned spreadsheet caused nan publically reported early ballot totals successful Harris County to look incorrectly. Local officials person corrected nan archive posted online by Kane. They noted nan spreadsheet was branded "unofficial" and said nan correction would not effect nan charismatic ballot tally.

In a statement, nan Office of nan Harris County Clerk said, "In nan process of updating nan regular grounds of early ballot totals for 2 ballot centers (Baytown Community Center and Mission Bend Center), nan formatting of nan spreadsheet inadvertently misaligned, causing cells to displacement and bespeak incorrect numbers for different locations. Our agency is alert and is actively moving to correct nan report."

"I guarantee you that each ballot that was formed will beryllium accurately tallied," nan connection from nan clerk's agency concluded.

By Jui Sarwate

Software malfunction prevented immoderate voters from scanning ballots successful Cambria County, Pennsylvania. Voting hours extended to 10 p.m. successful nan county.

Details: Local courts person extended voting hours from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. successful Cambria County, Pennsylvania aft section officials said a "software malfunction" prevented voters from scanning their ballots early Tuesday morning.

Voters are utilizing insubstantial ballots arsenic technicians reappraisal nan issue. 

"All votes will beryllium counted and we proceed to promote everyone to vote," nan region commissioner's agency said successful a property release.

According to nan county's petition to widen voting hours, nan malfunction "caused elector confusion, agelong lines of voters, and galore individuals near nan polling locations without casting a ballot.

"The Pennsylvania Department of State said it is successful interaction pinch Cambria County and is "committed to ensuring a free, fair, safe, and unafraid election."

Cambria County, located successful southwestern Pennsylvania, has a organization of astir 131,000. Trump won nan region 68% to 31% successful 2020, and he won by a akin separator successful 2016.

By Steve Reilly, Julia Ingram, Layla Ferris

False: Non-citizens encouraged to ballot successful Philadelphia

Conservative commentator James O'Keefe claimed non-citizens are being encouraged to ballot successful Philadelphia.

Details: Philadelphia officials said allegations by commentator James O'Keefe that non-citizens are being encouraged to ballot are incorrect. O'Keefe posted a caller video connected Monday claiming Election Clerk Milton Jamerson and Ceiba, a section non-profit, advised voting pinch an ITIN number, sloppy of citizenship.

The video received 1.6 cardinal views connected X arsenic of Tuesday, and was reposted by conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, who said it was "the smoking weapon of attempted predetermination theft."

Philadelphia City Commissioner Seth Bluestein said the study was incorrect and non-citizens are not eligible to ballot successful Philadelphia. ITINs are for taxation purposes and not linked to voting eligibility. Ceiba called O'Keefe's claims "unfounded and based connected harmful stereotypes."

By Joanne Stocker and Emmet Lyons