Misspelling of candidates' names shown in viral posts would not invalidate votes

Context

Social media users have circulated images and videos claiming that Republican candidate Donald Trump's name is misspelled on ballots in Virginia and Ohio. Some posts allege the error constitutes electoral fraud. 

One post allegedly showing a ballot paper in Norwood, Ohio, shows Trump's name misspelled as "Trun.p" (here and here). Other posts feature a video allegedly from Virginia showing Trump's name as "Triump" (here and here). 

Some users claim this is evidence of an "attempted election steal" (here) and suggest that votes won't count if the candidate's name is not spelled correctly (here). Others have even gone so far as to call it an act of treason (here). Such posts have received millions of views across platforms, including X (see links reported above), Facebook (here and here), and Instagram (here).  

In fact

Electoral officials in both states have clarified that the misspellings do not affect the integrity of the vote.

Authorities in Norwood, Ohio, say they have not received any complaints about ballots damaged in this way or encountered any ballots returned with similar issues. 

"The only reports we have seen of this type of damaged ballot are those circulating online," the Hamilton County Board of Elections stated on X. "Based on those posts, we cannot determine whether the author is a registered voter in Hamilton County or whether the ballot is even a genuine Hamilton County ballot." 

The account adds that "the images may be a hoax."

However, officials also emphasized that "damage to a candidate's name" would not invalidate a vote, making these circulating images misleading even if not fabricated. 

In Virginia, an electoral official confirmed the authenticity of the video showing a typographical error on a ballot review screen. However, Derek Lyall, director of elections and general registrar in Washington County, Virginia, told USA Today that the error does not affect any votes. 

The typo appears only on an optional ballot review screen, activated if a voter requests it before inserting their ballot. This screen displays the voters' selections on their paper ballot, so the misspelling becomes visible only after the choices are finalized. Lyall noted that fewer than 20 out of more than 10,000 voters in Washington County used this optional screen. While the video is genuine, the claim that the typo impacts votes is inaccurate.

According to the Center for an Informed Public at the University of Washington, the U.S. has thousands of different voting jurisdictions that are locally adjudicated, each with unique ballots. Mistakes that might happen are rarely intentional, almost always have remedies, and are unlikely to affect voting outcomes.

The verdict

According to electoral officials in both Ohio and Virginia, any misspellings reported on ballot papers do not invalidate votes. This claim is false.

Follow Logically Facts' coverage and fact-checking of the U.S. Election 2024 here.