A clip showing election poll workers picking up mail-in ballots from ballot drop boxes in Los Angeles, California is being shared on Indian social media falsely claiming that it shows voter fraud happening in the United States elections where currently the vote counting process is still on.
Postal voting or mail-in voting in the US is a form of absentee ballot in which a ballot is mailed to the home of a registered voter, who fills it out and returns it by postal mail or drops it off in-person into a secure drop box or at a voting center.
Los Angeles County's Registrar and Recorder/County Clerk who conduct the elections took to Twitter stating that those are valid ballots which will be processed and counted and added that there was no missed collection and the drop boxes were closed and locked at 8 pm on election night, November 3, 2020 and then collected the following day, November 4, 2020.
The 1.13 minutes clip is being shared as United States is voting to elect their next president on November 3, 2020, and the subsequent counting process that is still on to determine the winner.
In the viral clip, a woman can be heard questioning two individuals picking up mail-in ballots from the ballot drop box and questioning how the state (California) has already been called in favour of a candidate (Joe Biden).
The clip was tweeted by Tarek Fatah, a Pakistan-born Canadian columnist and a popular figure among the Indian right-wing with the caption, "The fate of U.S. postal ballots. I am sure Nicaragua and Senegal could do a better job at compromising the people's trust in the electoral system. RIP USA."
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BOOM has previously fact-checked Fatah for sharing misinformation in the past.
The same clip was also quote tweeted by Madhu Purnima Kishwar. BOOM has also earlier fact-checked Kishwar for sharing misinformation.
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Viral on Facebook
On searching on Facebook with the same caption, we found that the viral clip was being shared with false claims.
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FACT-CHECK
BOOM found that the viral clip is from Reseda, Los Angles in the state of California, United States where election officials were collecting valid mail-in ballots that had to be processed and counted. The viral clip was first posted on November 4, 2020, after which it has gone viral with false claims.
At the 47 seconds timestamp in the viral clip, the election official can be heard saying 'LA County', taking a hint from that, we performed a keyword search and found a report on NBC News. In its live blog coverage on the US election, it had stated that Los Angeles County had responded to a viral video questioning ballot collection stating that they were valid ballots. It further stated that a spokesperson from LA County had confirmed to NBC that the individuals in the viral clip collecting ballots are members of their staff.
We found a reply by L.A. County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk (RR/CC) to a Twitter user who posted the viral clip stating that those were valid ballots.
The tweet posted on November 5, 2020, read, "No missed collection. The Drop Boxes are closed and locked at 8 p, on Election Night and then collected the following day. These are valid ballots that will be processed and counted during the post election canvass just as ballots received with a valid, timely post mark."
Further on the point raised in the viral clip by the woman on the state being called in favor of a candidate (Joe Biden), the L.A. County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk in a tweet explained that it does not call or predict election results and that is done media outlets. After voting day, the projected winners that are reported by news organizations are based on partial counts, and on the election voting night on November 3, 2020, as several media outlets had declared / call states for the two party candidates - Joe Biden and Donald Trump based on projections.
Joe Biden was called the projected winner in California, by several outlets including NBC and The Associated Press, and CNN. Additionally, California is a historically Democratic Party stronghold state which last voted for a Republican Party Presidential candidate in 1998 for George H.W. Bush.
According to the California Secretary of State, the votes are still being count as tweeted on November 5, 2020, stating that the California Elections officials have until December 3, 2020, to process all ballots received and the election results will be finalized no later than December 11, 2020.
Follow live updates: US Elections: Decision Desk HQ Calls The Election In Favour Of Biden