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Misleading: A video shows Maricopa County election workers sneaking in at night to tamper with election data on USB drives

Arizona

The two people in the video are Maricopa County election employees doing a routine software update, according to county officials.

The rumor: Misleading “A video shows Maricopa County election workers sneaking in at night to tamper with election data on USB drives”

The facts: The images, time-stamped about 10:40 p.m. on Oct. 7, show them at the county tabulation center; the county says its tabulators are not connected to the internet and can only be updated by thumb drive, and badge rules require two people to enter together. Posts on X since Oct. 9 present the clip as tampering, but no evidence of wrongdoing has been shown, and a nearly identical claim in 2021 was also debunked. The county has invited all parties to observe its process; take questions to Maricopa County Elections.

How this story developed

  1. UW Center for an Informed Public reports the clip reached about 35,000 posts on X in three days and calls it a false narrative.
  2. The Board of Supervisors chair and vice chair post a fuller explanation: a routine software update on tabulators that are not connected to the internet.
  3. The clip is posted on X as evidence of tampering and widely reposted. Maricopa County Elections responds that the workers were doing legitimate tasks.

Sources

  1. Fox 10 Phoenix: county says workers were updating software, Oct 9 Other source Archived copy
  2. Maricopa County Board of Supervisors: software update explained, Oct 14 Official election source Checked
  3. UW Center for an Informed Public: late-night video is a false narrative, Oct 15 Fact-check Checked Archived copy