As early voting for the November midterm elections proceeds in most states, election officials in Kansas, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas have stated that recent reports of voters experiencing difficulties with touchscreen voting machines are primarily due to user error or minor calibration issues, rather than evidence of election rigging. While social media posts have highlighted instances where voters said their selections did not register as intended, officials emphasize that the volume of complaints is consistent with previous years and that verification steps, such as reviewing paper ballots, mitigate potential errors.

What the Right Is Saying

Conservative voices and election administrators have characterized the concerns as misunderstandings of the voting process, often attributing the issues to voter behavior or the complexity of decentralized election systems. Chad Gray, the election administrator for Williamson County, Tennessee, stated that officials found no discrepancies in the voting equipment and noted that representatives from both parties examine devices if problems arise. Tennessee Elections Coordinator Mark Goins described the reported issues as "not a vote-flipping situation" but rather "an unintended touch that they may not even realize." Election officials in Bexar County, Texas, where a voter reported difficulty selecting a Democratic candidate, said they could not confirm any equipment issues and suggested the problem "could possibly be user error."

What the Left Is Saying

Progressive voters and some commentators have interpreted the reported technical difficulties as potential signs of partisan interference, particularly noting that the issues appeared to disadvantage Democratic candidates. Stella Parton, a public figure and sister of the late country singer Dolly Parton, wrote in a Facebook post that at her polling place near Nashville she had to "go back three times and correct my vote" because it kept defaulting to Republican Sen. Marsha Blackburn. "I’m putting this out here because when we vote, we take it seriously but we try not to hold up the long lines. Do it anyway. Don’t let them rig this election," Parton wrote. Another voter in Kendall County, Texas, shared a video describing how his mother-in-law’s machine repeatedly selected Republicans despite her intent to vote for Democrats, concluding that people were "jacking with our elections."

What the Numbers Show

According to an AP-NORC poll referenced in reporting on the story, many Democrats have reported a decline in trust in election results over the last four years, with concerns about presidential interference cited as a major factor. Election officials in South Carolina, including spokesperson Sydni Bain, noted that the state has not seen an unusual increase in reports of voters having trouble making selections, stating such reports are common during high-turnout statewide elections. Kristin Miles, president of the Texas Association of County Election Officials, stated that "nearly every case comes back to the screen calibration on older touchscreen machines, not a change to anyone's vote." Staci Decker, an elections administrator in Kendall County, Texas, indicated that "100% of the time" the issue is attributable to a voter tapping the wrong part of the on-screen box or tapping too hard, causing miscalibration.

The Bottom Line

Election officials emphasize that the U.S. voting system is decentralized, with thousands of jurisdictions using different equipment and rules, which they argue makes widespread, coordinated fraud difficult. Most jurisdictions using the ExpressVote devices mentioned in the reports employ a two-step process: voters make selections on a touchscreen, and a paper record is printed for the voter to review before the ballot is tabulated. David Becker, executive director of the Center for Election Innovation and Research, noted that disinformation purveyors often seize on well-meaning concerns to sow doubt, comparing the touchscreen errors to common digital mistakes like butt dialing or mistyping on phones. Voters are advised to consult poll workers if they encounter difficulties and to review their printed ballot before casting it to ensure their selections are correct.