Fact check: Biden encouraged Americans to be patient as ballots are counted in 2022 midterms
The claim: Biden announced 'they are going to cheat by dumping ballots'
Ahead of Election Day, President Joe Biden delivered remarks arguing that democracy is at stake and warned Americans of the potential for political violence. Some social media users claim he also announced that Democrats will be engaging in election fraud.
"Joe Biden announced to the world tonight that they are going to cheat by dumping ballots," reads a screenshot of a direct message shared on Instagram Nov. 3. "He asked the citizens of America to 'be patient' because 'it takes time to count all legitimate ballots.'''
The post also claims that for every citizen that doesn't show up to vote, Democrats will receive one illegal ballot.
But the claim is baseless.
Biden never said Democrats will be cheating or dumping ballots. It is normal for state election officials to continue counting ballots after Election Day, election experts told USA TODAY. That is not indicative of election fraud.
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USA TODAY reached out to the social media user who shared the claim for comment.
Biden: 'Important for citizens to be patient' as ballots counted
At no point does Biden say in his Nov. 2 speech that Democrats will cheat by dumping ballots in the midterm election, according to both a White House and a New York Times transcript.
USA TODAY did not find this claimed announcement or anything similar in any White House statements, remarks or press briefings.
Biden did tell Americans during his speech to be patient since it takes time to count ballots. But a lengthy vote-counting process is normal, and not proof of cheating in elections, as USA TODAY has previously reported.
Here's what Biden said, according to both the White House and the New York Times:
We know that more and more ballots are cast in early voting or by mail in America. And we know that many states don’t start counting those ballots until after the polls close on November 8th.
That means, in some cases, we won’t know the winner of the election for a few days — until after a few days after the election. It takes time to count all legitimate ballots in a legal and orderly manner.
It’s always been important for citizens in a democracy to be informed and engaged. Now it’s important for citizens to be patient as well.
Ballot counting has never been complete on Election Day, according to David Becker, the executive director of the nonpartisan Center for Election Innovation and Research. Most election night results are from in-person voting on Election Day, early in-person voting and pre-processed mail ballots in states that allow that.
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"Mail ballots and provisional ballots need to be validated prior to counting," Becker said. "Some states restrict election officials from processing and validating mail ballots until Election Day itself, which can slow down counting."
For example, Wisconsin is one of the few states that only allows absentee or mail-in-ballots to be processed and counted beginning on Election Day before polls close, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. During the 2020 presidential election, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, received over 100,000 absentee ballots, which officials finished counting after Election Day.
And a state can take weeks to release official, certified results, Becker said. Before that, all results are partial and unofficial.
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Various state officials also told USA TODAY it is false to claim that Democrats will get one illegal ballot for every citizen who doesn't show up to vote.
"Georgia doesn’t give ballots to anyone because someone else doesn’t show up," Mike Hassinger, a spokesperson for Georgia's Secretary of State's office, told USA TODAY. "In a general election, voters have to request a ballot and sign an oath swearing they are legally entitled to a ballot before they are issued one. Any variation from that process would be illegal."
Patrick Gannon, a spokesperson for the North Carolina State Board of Elections, agreed that the claim is baseless.
"There is zero evidence that anything like this has ever occurred, and it would be extremely easy to figure out if it did," Gannon said.
PolitiFact also debunked the claim.
Our rating: False
Based on our research, we rate FALSE the claim that Biden announced, "they are going to cheat by dumping ballots." Biden never said anything of the sort in his Nov. 2 speech on democracy. While he did tell Americans it takes a while to count legitimate ballots, election experts said this is normal and not indicative of cheating in elections.
Our fact-check sources:
New York Times, Nov. 2, Full Transcript of President Biden’s Speech on Democracy
David Becker, Nov. 4, Email exchange with USA TODAY
Patrick Gannon, Nov. 4, Email exchange with USA TODAY
Mike Hassinger, Nov. 4, Email exchange with USA TODAY
National Conference of State Legislatures, May 17, Table 16: When Absentee/Mail Ballot Processing and Counting Can Begin
USA TODAY, Nov. 5, 2020, Fact check: Democrat-led states did not stop counting votes for no reason
PolitiFact, Nov. 4, No, Biden didn’t say Democrats would dump ballots
PolitiFact, Jan. 15, 2021, Yes, slow absentee count explains supposed “ballot dump” in Milwaukee
White House, accessed Nov. 4, Statements and releases
White House, accessed Nov. 4, Speeches and remarks
White House, accessed Nov. 4, Press briefings
White House, Nov. 2, Remarks by President Biden on Standing up for Democracy
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fact check: Biden encouraged patience as ballots are counted in 2022