Fact check: Did Donald Trump cheat in the US election?

DW (English)

Following Donald Trump's win in the 2024 US presidential election, the hashtag #TrumpCheated has trended on social media. People have suggested foul play, and that millions of votes haven't been counted. But what do the facts say?

Transcript

00:00Did Trump cheat in the election?

00:02Many users on social media claim that a significant number of votes went uncounted,

00:07casting doubt on the results.

00:09Following Trump's win in the 2024 US presidential election,

00:12the hashtag TrumpCheated is trending as social media users suggest foul play in voting results.

00:19But what do the facts say?

00:21Some users claim that their vote hasn't been counted yet and thus

00:25the winner couldn't have been announced.

00:27This claim is false.

00:29Not all votes have to be counted to announce a winner.

00:32The US election is decided by a majority state by state.

00:36And each state has the authority to determine how its electoral votes are allocated.

00:42If the second place, in this case Kamala Harris,

00:44cannot catch up with any additional votes in a state,

00:47the winner for this single state can already be announced.

00:51As in many states, the system is the winner takes it all.

00:54It doesn't actually really matter if any single vote was counted or not

00:58because it's clear that he had the majority of the votes.

01:02In the US, when you vote for a presidential candidate,

01:05you are actually voting for your candidate's preferred electors.

01:09These electors then cast the official votes for the president in the electoral college.

01:15The presidential nominee with the majority of electoral votes

01:18becomes the president of the United States with at least 270 electoral votes.

01:25In this year's election, that's Donald Trump.

01:27In the US, the votes are counted in different ways.

01:30Some counties use optical scanners to process ballots,

01:34while others employ touchscreen systems or ballot marking devices.

01:39Scanners are the most common,

01:41and their results are then manually recounted and double-checked.

01:45Candidates, courts, or groups of voters can request recounts,

01:49but the rules vary significantly by state.

01:52Requests are typically made within three to seven days.

01:55So far, there has been no evidence that either Democrats or Republicans

02:00have manipulated this election.

02:02Back to why the electoral process is complicated in the US.

02:06The results that the public gets are a mix of preliminary data

02:10released by officials and projections by news agencies such as AP and Reuters.

02:17All states must certify their official results by December 11.

02:21Six days later, the electors cast their electoral votes.

02:26On January 6, 2025, the Congress will count and certify the electoral votes.

02:31Historically, voter fraud is extremely rare in the United States.

02:35Numerous studies and investigations have consistently shown

02:39that instances of voter fraud are minimal

02:42and do not impact the overall integrity of elections.

02:46So there is no evidence that Trump has cheated in this election.

02:51The electoral process leaves little room for manipulation,

02:54and Kamala Harris herself has conceded defeat to Donald Trump.

02:58If you see more false or misleading claims,

03:01you can write us in the comment section or via email to factchecking at dw.com.

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