Reality Check
Jack Goodman
Posted at 18:0118:01
Fact check: Dead people can’t vote
Viral tweets alleged that dead people were casting votes in the key state of Michigan, adding to a Trump-led chorus of unproven “voter fraud” claims.
Michigan authorities now have hit back, calling the rumours “misinformation” – and noting that votes from dead people are rejected.
The viral tweets supposedly identified people who had cast an absentee ballot despite being born at the turn of the century and having passed away.
One of the men in the posts seems to have been mixed up with his father, now deceased, who shared the same name and address, according to the Politifact websiteLocal officials in Michigan told the website that the son’s ballot was erroneously attributed to the father.
We’ve seen other isolated cases of allegations of “dead people” voting – most also explained by family members with the same name, or technical hitches, such as voters being instructed to enter a dummy date of birth if they can’t initially find their voter registration record online.
The rumours have been repeated by influential accounts, including those of the president’s son Don Jr – who of course also shares a name with his father – and the UK's Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage.