Donald Trump
Trump questions legitimacy of US midterm election results
Note: AI technology was used to generate this article’s audio.
- He challenged pre-election polling, alleged that large early-voting batches made it impossible for some candidates to win, and questioned the role of voting machines.
- The remarks came after Democrats secured major victories in the midterms, prompting Trump to revisit the election results.
US President Donald Trump questioned on Monday the integrity of the Nov. 3 midterm elections on Monday, casting doubt on the results and raising allegations about early-voting figures and electronic voting machines without providing evidence of electoral misconduct.
In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump asked whether anyone genuinely believed the election had been honest, questioning how pre-election polls could have been so far off the eventual results.
He also alleged that some early-voting batches, which he described as "dumps," were so large that winning had become impossible regardless of how many people turned out to vote.
"It's all about the machines, which are far more important than the voter!" Trump wrote, ending the post with his customary presidential sign-off.
The comments appeared to renew Trump's criticism of the election following significant Democratic gains in the midterms, which saw the party make advances in congressional races and challenge Republican control of Washington.
The allegations follow reports of isolated technical problems at some polling locations. The Associated Press reported that a programming glitch in Westchester County, New York, prevented voting machines from accepting paper ballots when polls opened, forcing officials to secure completed ballots for later processing. However, the AP found no evidence that such incidents could account for the Democrats' nationwide victories.
Earlier, a separate Oct. 28 fact-check by FactCheck.org found no evidence that touchscreen voting machines were deliberately switching voters' selections. Election experts and state officials attributed reported problems to touchscreen calibration issues or voter error, while pointing to safeguards that allow voters to review their selections on printed ballots before they are counted.
