Video of people stealing air conditioners falsely presented as electoral fraud in Venezuela

Context

A post (archived here) circulating on X, previously Twitter, claims that "... masked Chavista militiamen raided a local voting station and forcibly took the ballot boxes with the votes to an unknown location." This allegedly happened in Punta Cardón, in Venezuela's Falcón state. The post also includes a video that shows multiple men carrying out white boxes from a building as people record the act, with some yelling audible in the background. 

The tweet attributes the responsibility for these actions to Nicolás Maduro Moros, a Venezuelan politician and president since 2013, who is purportedly committing "MASSIVE ELECTORAL FRAUD." Originally written in Spanish, the post became viral after being reshared by English-language accounts, garnering over 2.5 million views in less than a day.  

Additionally, Visegrád 24, a suspected Polish Twitter account known for disseminating misinformation, shared the same video (see an archived version here), captioned "BREAKING: Armed communist Maduro gangs 'Colectivos' are now storming polling stations in Punta Cardón in the Falcón state, Venezuela. They are there to steal the boxes with the votes." The latter has gained over 30 million views. 

In fact

The video does not show militiamen raiding a local voting station. Instead, it shows thieves stealing air conditioners. Upon closer inspection, the white boxes have ventilation openings and are made of white plastic commonly used in air conditioners. The boxes also feature a yellow triangular caution sign, typically indicating trip hazards, danger of death, or high voltage. While the specific threat indicated by the signs is unclear, it could be a general warning or a particular sign used for air conditioners. There is no reason for a ballot box to have a caution sign. Additionally, although most of the audio is unintelligible, around 0:04, someone says, "Van a robar el aire..." meaning, "They are going to steal the air..."

A screenshot from the video (Source: X)

Moreover, voting in Venezuela is not done using paper ballots. Instead, voting machines print receipts for voters to confirm their votes with a physical copy. This aims to ensure fair counting and prevent tampering. The machines use biometric authentication and are fully auditable. The final count is verified with physical receipts and transmitted electronically through an isolated network so as to avoid interference. Even if a ballot box is stolen, it only contains receipts. Therefore, the votes wouldn't be lost. While the voting machine tallies the votes and produces results for the polling station, the paper record in the ballot box allows verification of the electronic record's accuracy.

The verdict

The video does not show Chavista militiamen taking ballot boxes. It shows unidentified people stealing air conditioners. Voting in Venezuela is done using machines. Therefore, we mark this claim as false.