What worries Pennsylvania's top election official as Election Day nears
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Secretary Al Schmidt. Photo: Lynsey Addario/Getty Images
Pennsylvania's top elections official, Al Schmidt, toured all 67 counties to learn what's on voters' minds ahead of the 2024 election.
His big takeaway: How many voters still believe debunked election conspiracies, the commonwealth secretary tells Axios.
Driving the news: Schmidt joined other elections officials on Friday in leading a pre-Election Day walk-through of the Northeast Philly facility where ballots will be processed after polls close on election night.
- It's part of efforts, like the listening tour, to help assure voters that elections here are safe and secure.
What he's saying: Election conspiracies "can do great harm" to people's faith in election results, Schmidt tells Axios. And they're a pressing issue in Pennsylvania.
- During his state tour, Schmidt found some voters still believe debunked election conspiracies from 2020 about dead people voting and a "fictitious truckload of ballots from China brought in by South Philly organized crime figures."
- He said they were just two of several "paranoid" fantasies that "people are indulging in."
Between the lines: More than half of Philadelphia voters polled in a recent survey say they're "extremely" concerned about misinformation.
- False claims spread faster with social media, leaving officials playing a high-stakes game of whack-a-mole in tamping down rumors.
Case in point: Bucks County officials warned Thursday of a fake viral video spreading online that purportedly shows ballots cast for Republican candidates being destroyed.
- Federal authorities believe the video could be part of a Russian-backed hoax meant to help former President Trump, USA Today reports. Trump made several baseless claims during the 2020 election about voter fraud in Pennsylvania.
- The county has asked federal and state authorities to investigate the incident.
The bottom line: Schmidt urges voters to check official sources, including the state's fact-checking page, if they have any questions about any election claim circulating on social media.