Fact Check: 2020 US election were manipulated

Fact Check: "2020 US election were manipulated"

What We Know

Following the 2020 US presidential election, former President Donald Trump and many of his supporters claimed that the election was marred by widespread voter fraud and manipulation. These claims included allegations of voting machines switching votes, high turnout in Democratic areas, and unusual patterns in voting data. However, extensive research and analysis have consistently shown that these claims lack credible evidence.

A comprehensive study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found that none of the statistical claims made by Trump and his allies were convincing. The authors concluded that the supposed anomalies in voting patterns were either not factual or not indicative of fraud (Eggers et al., 2021). For example, claims about the performance of Biden in "bellwether counties" were shown to be consistent with historical voting trends, rather than evidence of manipulation (Eggers et al., 2021).

Political science research has also examined the basis of these fraud claims, revealing that they are often based on misunderstandings of electoral processes and statistical data. Justin Grimmer, a political science professor, noted that many of the claims were dismissed in court due to their lack of substantiation and reliance on flawed reasoning (Grimmer, 2024).

Analysis

The claims of manipulation in the 2020 election have been subjected to rigorous scrutiny. Various studies and fact-checks have systematically debunked the most prominent allegations. For instance, the assertion that voting machines, such as those from Dominion, were rigged to switch votes has been thoroughly investigated and found to be baseless (Grimmer, 2024).

Moreover, the idea that Biden's win was anomalous due to low county victories compared to his vote count is a misunderstanding of electoral dynamics. Biden's support was concentrated in populous urban areas, a trend seen in recent elections, which explains the discrepancy without implying fraud (Eggers et al., 2021).

Additionally, the claims surrounding "bellwether counties" were shown to be misleading. The historical context of these counties indicates that their voting patterns can vary significantly from election to election, and Biden's performance was not outside the norm when considering the continuity of voting behavior from 2016 to 2020 (Eggers et al., 2021).

The reliability of sources making these claims is also questionable. Many originate from partisan figures or groups with a vested interest in delegitimizing the election results, rather than from independent, non-partisan analyses. For example, claims made by Trump and his allies have been widely discredited by multiple fact-checking organizations and academic studies (Brookings, 2023; BBC, 2020).

Conclusion

The claim that the 2020 US election was manipulated is False. Extensive research, including statistical analyses and expert evaluations, has found no credible evidence to support allegations of widespread voter fraud or manipulation. The claims made by Trump and his supporters are based on misunderstandings of electoral data and processes, and they have been consistently debunked by credible sources.