Video shows man in Nebraska memorializing first vote for president | Fact check

The claim: Video shows a ‘ballot mule’ in Nebraska

A Nov. 3 Instagram post (direct link, archive link) shares a video of a man placing something in a ballot box, setting aside his skateboard and taking a selfie in front of the box.

“Ballot mule caught on camera at Eiseley Branch Library,” the post reads in part. “Doesn't this look suspicious?”

The post was liked more than 1,000 times in two days.

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Our rating: False

Nothing improper happened in the video, according to the Lancaster County, Nebraska, Elections Commission. It says the claim was investigated and officials called local police to alert that department to threats made against the man in the video.

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Man in video was memorializing first vote for president

The approaching 2024 presidential election spawned a wealth of misinformation and conspiracy theories about attempts to rig the election. One such theory claims people are shoveling fraudulent votes into ballot boxes, with those carrying the ballots dubbed mules in reference to the now-debunked movie "2000 Mules."

But the video taken at a Lincoln, Nebraska, library shows nothing nefarious, according to the Lancaster County Election Commission. In a news release posted to social media on Nov. 4. the commission said the video shows “a young man returning his ballot for his first presidential election” and documenting the moment with a selfie.

The agency says it identified the man in the video and investigated the claim. Finding no wrongdoing, it then reported threats being made about him online to police.

"It is shameful and un-American to intimidate and threaten anyone for exercising their right to vote,” Election Commissioner Todd Wiltgen said in the release. “We were concerned about the voter's safety when we realized commentors on the social media posts were threatening to harm him.”

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The Lancaster County Republican Party similarly tried to settle the conspiratorial fires, saying in a post on X that the man was confirmed to be returning his ballot and urging people to “calm down.”

Even if the man were delivering someone else’s ballot, that would not have necessarily been illegal or improper. Nebraska law allows people to designate someone to return an early voting ballot on their behalf and does not specify restrictions on who could do the task or how many people someone can return ballots for.

USA TODAY reached out to the Instagram user who shared the claim for comment but did not immediately receive a response.

Our fact-check sources:

• Lancaster County, Nebraska, Election Commission (Facebook), Nov. 4, Press release

• Lancaster County Republican Party, Nov. 3, Post on  X

• Nebraska Legislature, accessed Nov.4, Nebraska Revised Statute 32-943

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: False claim video shows 'ballot mule' in Nebraska | Fact check