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TRUMP, citing “74,000 mail in ballots received that were never mailed (magically appearing ballots).”
THE FACTS: No, there were no magically appearing ballots. He is alleging that the number of filled-out ballots received in the mail by election officials exceeded the number of people who had asked earlier for mail-in ballots, by 74,000. But that’s not at all what happened.
The claim mischaracterizes reports created for political parties to track who has voted early so they can target their get-out-the-vote efforts.
One report tracks all requests that voters make for early ballots, either by mail or in person, up to 11 days before the election. The other report tracks all ballots received through the day before the election. That leaves a 10-day window during which people who vote in-person but don’t request a mail ballot would appear on one report but not the other.
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