Tucker Carlson falsely claims Arizona voting machines didn’t allow people to vote. Here’s what actually happened
Election officials reported problems with voting tabulation machines – not voting machines – which did not prevent anyone casting votes
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Tucker Carlson falsely claimed on his nightly show that electronic voting machines in Arizona “didn’t allow people to vote.”
Mr Carlson said a “huge percentage of electronic voting machines” were faulty, calling it “an actual threat to democracy.”
His claims, broadcast to millions of viewers on his Fox News show, were false.
Officials in Republican-led Maricopa County reported a problem earlier in the day with ballot tabulation machines — machines that count votes — in 60 out of the county’s 223 voting centres.
Bill Gates, chairman of the Maricopa County board of supervisors, called it a “technical issue” and said people were still able to cast votes.
“None of this indicates any fraud,” said Mr Gates, a Republican.
“About 20 per cent of the locations out there where there’s an issue with the tabulator where some of the ballots that after people have voted them, they try and run them through the tabulator and they’re not going through,” he said in a Facebook video.
Mr Gates said that voters could still cast ballots at centres with faulty machines, but their ballots would be placed in a secured box until they can be transferred to a centre with working counters.
Mr Carlson is not the only right wing figure who was sharing misinformation about Arizona in the hours after the incident.
Former president Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social: “They are trying to steal the election with bad machines and DELAY. Don’t let it happen!”
Arizona has been a focal point for election conspiracy theories since 2020, when large crowds gathered outside of election offices outside of Phoenix, fueled by false claims of fraud.
Joe Biden would ultimately go on to win the state of Arizona in a closely fought race, and despite several investigations, no evidence of any foul play was discovered.
But two years on from that night, Arizona has remained a focal point for so-called “election deniers” — that is, people who refuse to accept the results of elections that they lose. The state also has the dubious honour of being one of the top states for threats against election workers.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments