Ingham County Clerk Barb Byrum, a Democrat, poses in her Mason, Mich., office. Matt Vasilogambros/Stateline
This story was originally published by The 19th. The 19th is committed to covering the unfinished business of voting rights. Read more about how we’re approaching that in this pivotal election.
In the days following the 2024 presidential election, Barb Byrum of Michigan watched open skepticism pour in online about former President Donald Trump’s win over Vice President Kamala Harris.
Some questioned how there could be lower overall voter turnout compared to four years ago, especially when there was record early voting in some states. Others wondered how enthusiasm for Harris — who packed campaign rallies in the final weeks of the election — could translate into more votes for Trump. And yet others raised the possibility that their votes hadn’t actually been recorded.
There is no proof of widespread voter fraud, and officials who oversee the country’s decentralized election system have praised how smoothly the process played out this year.
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That hasn’t stopped suspicions from manifesting on several social media platforms. But Byrum — herself a Harris supporter and a former Democratic state representative — does nonpartisan work as the chief elections official in Ingham County, which includes part of the state capital of Lansing. Byrum was wearing that hat as she started debunking conspiracy theories, something she also did in 2020 when Trump challenged the election results and some of his supporters began spreading unfounded doubt.
“In the end, we must combat mis- and disinformation,” Byrum told The 19th. “No matter who is saying it, it is imperative that we bring truth and shed light.”
Byrum has been addressing the incoming false narratives that she encounters on different social media accounts since the election. No, results were not manipulated or sent via the internet, she explained. And yes, there are multiple ways for voters in the state to know whether their vote was counted or not, as Byrum provided in a step-by-step explainer that included screenshots of the status page.
“I don’t think it’s election denialism yet, but if it’s allowed to persist, it will go in that direction,” she said of the narratives floating around. “Right now, people are grieving the loss of their candidate and they’re trying to understand.”
Byrum’s efforts show the lengths to which some election officials — a predominantly women-led workforce — are taking to restore trust in how elections are administered.
But while allegations of widespread voter fraud did not derail vote counting for the presidential race nor pose serious security issues like some experts had worried, Byrum’s debunking still signals the bumpy road ahead for those who will grapple with future claims — and there’s no immediate end to the work.
“We’re at such a low point of trust in institutions and media,” said Isabel Linzer, an elections and democracy fellow at the Center for Democracy & Technology (CDT), a research and policy organization that works to improve technology in spaces like elections. “It’s not a surprise that we see election denialism continuing.”
Trump won more votes than Harris in the Electoral College, and he is on track to win the popular vote. The president-elect’s margin of victory in key battleground states was wide enough that major media outlets were able to project his win in the early morning hours after election night — a stark contrast to 2020 when it took several days to determine President Joe Biden had won.
Votes are still being counted and processed in several states during the post-election canvassing period, but there is enough information available that indicates Trump made in-roads with voters across race, gender and ethnicity, among other demographics. And irrespective of rally sizes and on-the-ground enthusiasm for the candidates, most polls showed a close race going into Election Day. The final tally of votes is expected to reflect that.
Narratives about widespread voter fraud flourished in the lead-up to November 5, in part because Trump has spread unfounded conspiracy theories about it over several years. That contributed to a more organized election denialism movement that now includes some election officials.
It’s also a message that members of Congress concluded directly led to the deadly insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021.
Election officials have been on the receiving end of the conspiracy theories. After 2020, they reported harassment, intimidation and threats of violence. They advocated for federal support and policies to protect their safety. They tried to bring transparency to the election process, offering tours of ballot processing facilities and other public events. They still dealt with a flood of disinformation.
Tina Barton is a senior election expert for The Elections Group, which aims to build trust and stronger relationships between election officials and law enforcement. She believes the scope of election denialism in the post-November 5 sphere has been contained in part because of the work that election officials have done to prepare, including running through security scenarios and efforts to debunk lies.
“We have come a long way from where we were four years ago, and I give a lot of credit to the election officials for the work that they have done, and so many partners and groups who have been dedicated to the election process and democracy,” she said.
Trump said during his third bid for the presidency this year that he would not fully accept the results of the election. Early on November 5, he claimed without evidence that cheating was taking place in Philadelphia and that there was related police presence in Detroit — two cities with large populations of Black voters who tend to vote for Democrats.
For those reasons, voting experts expected Trump to challenge the results if he lost. But as incoming vote tallies on election night showed Trump in the lead, his messaging on the subject stopped. He has primarily turned his attention to announcing his picks for Cabinet and other government roles. Harris never publicly questioned the results, and like Hillary Clinton in 2016, she conceded the day after the election — ensuring the peaceful transfer of power.
Still, other forms of election denialism are playing out elsewhere on the internet. Some of Trump’s supporters are pointing to Trump’s win as proof that he also won in 2020. He did not, as determined by audits, lawsuits and his own administration.
When Byrum did similar debunking following Trump’s loss to Biden, she was surprised at the verbal vitriol that came in response. This time, Byrum is seeing something different: people are thanking her for the explanations.
“They’re trying to process the information,” she said. “And the response that I’ve received thus far has been very positive.”
In recent days, billionaire investor Elon Musk has also claimed without evidence that Democrats are trying to cheat in the close Pennsylvania Senate race between Republican Dave McCormick and Democratic Sen. Bob Casey. McCormick leads Casey in unofficial results that are within half of a percentage point — triggering a legally required statewide recount that is scheduled to be completed later this month.
The Associated Press and Decision Desk HQ have called the race for McCormick. But Casey has not conceded in the race amid ongoing ballot counting.
Musk — who endorsed Trump, financially supported his candidacy and has since been tapped by the president-elect to co-lead a newly proposed “Department of Government Efficiency” — claimed on the social media platform that he owns that noncitizens voted in Pennsylvania. There is no proof of such widespread voter fraud. Trump won the state this year.
In a close Wisconsin Senate race, Republican Eric Hovde, who challenged Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin, claimed without evidence that there were “voting inconsistencies” on Election Day. The Associated Press and Decision Desk HQ have called the race for Baldwin. Hovde conceded on Monday.
It’s unclear for now to what degree election denialism will shape future elections — or policy. Trump posted on his Truth Social account on November 8 that he planned to advocate that Americans show proof of citizenship and voter identification to cast a ballot.
It is already illegal for noncitizens to vote in state and federal elections. Thirty-six states require some form of identification to vote, and the remaining others use other methods to verify identification.
Hannah Fried, executive director of All Voting is Local, a nonpartisan organization that works to protect voting access, said it’s too early to know how the new administration might try to implement voting policy. But she said in some way, changing the law may not be the point.
“It is to create enough doubt in our elections that you can use that doubt to consolidate your own power, or create this sort of undergirding to pass laws that a state legislature, for example, can pass that can be really harmful to voters,” she said.
Byrum in Michigan has been relieved by the reduction in threats and intimidation following this year’s election. But she knows that weaponized denialism can fester over time and create future problems for the election workforce. She wants to remind people that the vast majority of election officials are public servants who are trying to follow election laws and rules. They’re also just humans.
“We are your neighbors. We sit beside you at church. We are behind you in the drop-off line at school,” she said. “We are dedicated to promoting safe and secure elections.”