Reports of dozens of malfunctioning ballot-counting machines in Maricopa County in Arizona prompted a surge of voter fraud claims across right-wing media Tuesday morning in an early sign that election doubts and conspiracy theories will continue to find traction on Election Day.
Maricopa officials said the problems with ballot tabulation machines, including the rejection of valid ballots or their failure to read ballots successfully on the first try, were affecting about 40 the county’s 223 voting centers.
Bill Gates, chairman of the Maricopa County board of supervisors, and Stephen Richer, the county recorder, who are both Republicans, said the problems were disappointing but that voters could still cast ballots and that nobody was being denied a vote.
“None of this indicates any fraud,” Mr. Gates said. “This is a technical issue.”
But claims of widespread voter fraud circulated quickly on social media and in right-wing media anyway, with several right-wing influencers arguing that problems at voting sites would disproportionately affect Republicans, who have recently preferred voting in person because of distrust of mail-in ballots.
The chair of the state Republican Party, Kelli Ward, immediately raised the possibility of “malfeasance” and recalling officials.