Elon Musk pushes unsubstantiated Arizona voter fraud claims
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Elon Musk is promoting an Arizona election theory officials say is misinformation. Photo: Samuel Corum/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Elon Musk — the world's richest man with one of the largest online microphones — is using his social media site X to question Arizona's election system.
Reality check: One of Maricopa County's top elections officials says Musk's recent posts and reposts are amplifying misinformation and false narratives about voter fraud.
Why it matters: Election security has become one of the GOP's biggest talking points in Arizona and nationwide since former President Trump's 2020 loss — even though no legal challenges have successfully shown any proof of fraud or other election interference.
- Musk has endorsed Trump, and the former president has promised him a position in his administration if he wins.
Catch up quick: Last week, Trump-aligned advocacy group America First Legal posted on X that it sued all 15 Arizona counties "to remove illegals from their voter rolls."
- Musk reposted it, adding: "They are refusing to remove noncitizens from the voter rolls."
- Musk's repost garnered more than seven times as many likes and reposts as the original from America First Legal.
- In response to another X post, a user commented: "They are doing everything they can to cheat in the swing states," to which Musk responded: "Absolutely."
Context: Arizona is one of only a handful of states that require voters to provide proof of citizenship to participate in state and local elections.
- In 2013, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Arizona couldn't require citizen documentation for voters participating in federal elections because federal law permits people to register to vote without it.
- This required the state to create federal-only registration for people who couldn't provide proof of citizenship.
- There are about 42,000 federal-only voters in Arizona. America First Legal's lawsuit aims to force Arizona counties to conduct additional checks to ensure citizenship.
The intrigue: Republican Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer quickly attempted to correct Musk.
- "On every previous post you've made about Arizona elections (all of which have been wrong, but you've never corrected any of them), I've offered my office as a resource to you (and anyone) who wants actual answers to these questions," Richer posted on X.
Flashback: It wasn't the first time Richer has called out Musk's election posts.
- In April, Musk reposted an account called "End Wokeness" that claimed Arizona had more than 200,000 new voters who registered without a photo ID. Richer responded with voter registration data showing the post had "[zero] validity."
- In July, Richer asked Musk to tour the Maricopa County election facility to learn about security protocols after Musk posted: "Electronic voting machines and anything mailed in is too risky."
Musk did not respond to a request for comment through X's media team.