Voting machine in Kentucky did not block users from selecting Trump

Context

A video has gone viral claiming to show a voting machine in Kentucky not allowing U.S. voters to cast their ballot for President-elect Donald Trump. The video has gone viral in posts on X, TikTok, Instagram, and Threads amid broader allegations of voter fraud and tampering with voting equipment. 

We also found additional YouTube and Facebook posts using Logically® Accelerate, a tool that enables proactive discovery of fact-check-worthy content on platforms.

However, the video does not show a voting machine—it is a ballot-marking device where voters can create their ballot, which is then cast as usual. Local officials say the error was related to the user pressing between selection boxes and is not evidence of voter fraud.

In fact

We found that the error occurred in Laurel County, Kentucky, during the early voting period before election day. Michon Lindstrom, a spokesperson for the Kentucky Secretary of State, said that the incident was due to a "voter error."

Laurel County clerk Tony Brown wrote on Facebook on October 31 that electoral officials were aware of the incident but that it related to a ballot marking device, not a voting machine. Representatives from the Kentucky Attorney General's Office took the machine out of service for review and inspection. 

About 3.5 hours after his initial post, Brown explained on Facebook that the problem was down to a user pressing on the boundary of two boxes on the ballot-making machine. The Clerk and Attorney General's Office were able to recreate the problem after several attempts by hitting the area between the party box and the candidate's box, as seen in the viral video. They were not able to replicate it a second time. 

The voter in the viral video hitting the area between the Candidates Boxes and the Party Boxes instead of the middle or on the name, causing the machine not to record the selected vote. (Source: X/Screenshot/Modified by Logically Facts)

In a video accompanying the post, Brown showed that a candidate could be selected without issue when hitting the candidate's name or the middle of the selection box. He also stated that there were no issues with the machine before or after this event. According to Brown, the machine was returned to use, and the voter who posted the viral video was able to cast their vote.

On November 1, Brown also posted a tutorial video on how the ballot marking machine works. The voter inserts their ballot and selects a choice by hitting the name or the middle of the box on candidates and other votes and races. The machine then warns the voter if they have not selected a choice on certain topics, then moves to a summary of the voter's choices before hitting print. Once print is hit, the machine warns again if the voter has not selected a choice on certain votes and races, and before being printed, the machine urges the voter to review the ballot once printed. The ballot is then cast regularly in a ballot box or tabulator. 

This claim has also been fact-checked by Leadstories, Reuters, and Factcheck.org. 

The verdict

The voting machine was a ballot-making machine, and the selection issue was down to human error and solved on the spot. It is not indicative of voter fraud or voting machine tampering. Therefore, we have marked this claim as false. 

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