Florida voting touchscreen glitch does not prove midterms fraud

Certain jurisdictions reported small-scale voting touchscreen sensitivity issues during the early voting period for crucial US midterm elections, with some social media users claiming devices in Florida's Palm Beach County fraudulently switched votes from Democratic to Republican candidates. But county officials said calibration issues are not a sign of widespread fraud, advised voters to use a screen stylus for selection precision, and said traditional paper ballots are available.

"I voted today, and I can tell you, and show you, that people are not exaggerating their experiences," says the caption of an October 28, 2026 Facebook reel that gathered nearly 5 million views.

"This happened to me as I tried to select every single Democratic candidate. The machine, instead, highlighted the republican candidate every time I touched the dem candidate. It would only select the dem candidate when I used the stylus," the person -- who claims to be in the Palm Beach County town of Jupiter -- wrote in the post.

Screenshot of a Facebook reel taken on November 3, 2026 The same clip ricocheted across platforms including X, TikTok and Bluesky, and was reposted by James Martin, the Democratic candidate in Florida's 21st Congressional district race, highlighted in the video.

"We have some questions," he said in an October 28 X post sharing the clip.

The elections supervisor for Palm Beach County, Wendy Sartory Link, replied to Martin's post on X (archived here and here): "Our instructions clearly state that voters should use the stylus to make their selection because as your video clearly shows it's possible for voters to cross over to other candidates with their finger," she said.

She also highlighted that voters have multiple opportunities to review their selections before casting their ballot and can notify poll workers if they require a new one.

"Also, please note that recording inside a polling place is prohibited by law," she added.

Election technology Florida's Palm Beach County uses the Election Systems & Software (ES&S) ExpressVote ballot marking device, which issues a paper ballot that can be reviewed before submission (archived here).

"Voting machines do not change votes," Katina Granger, senior manager of public relations for ES&S, told AFP for previous reporting on similar misinformation circulating about "vote switching" in Tennessee.

The Palm Beach County Elections Team also confirmed in a November 2 email that the touchscreen ballot marking device "is not counting votes."

"The narrative suggesting that votes are being changed without the voter's knowledge overlooks several safeguards built into the voting process," the team said.

Electors have multiple opportunities to verify the accuracy of their selections:

When making selections on the touchscreen. During the review screen, where all selections are displayed before printing. After the ballot card is printed, when the voter reviews the paper ballot before inserting it into the tabulator. Local media outlets reported other cases of vote choices that allegedly did not register as intended.

The county's election team confirmed that it had received "some reports from voters regarding touchscreen sensitivity," but they said that all voters experiencing these issues "have been able to cast a ballot reflecting their intended selections."

Palm Beach County voters are also not required to use the ExpressVote ballot marking device (archived here). Officials told AFP that "every early voting location offered traditional handmarked ballots" (archived here).

"On Election Day, voters primarily use a traditional oval ballot to cast their vote" instead of the machines, they added.

Reuters also investigated the video.

The midterm elections will decide whether Donald Trump's Republicans retain control of Congress or spend the final two years of his term confronting Democratic majorities.

Find AFP's full list of US midterm election debunks here.

Florida voting touchscreen glitch does not prove midterms fraud

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