Fact Check: Viral Clips of 'Vote-Flipping' Touchscreens Are From 2014, 2018 and 2019 — Not the 2026 Midterms
Reuters traced three widely shared videos of glitching voting machines to elections held years ago, on equipment no state has used since 2024 — and none of the three counties involved has reported any machine problem this cycle.
Three video clips circulating online as supposed proof that voting machines are flipping votes in the 2026 midterms actually show touchscreen problems from elections held years ago, Reuters reported Monday in a fact check that rated the posts “Miscaptioned.”
All three clips show the same machine, the AccuVote TSX, displaying a calibration fault. Reuters traced one clip to Tippecanoe County, Indiana, in 2018, where an elections specialist said the fault affected under 1.5 percent of machines and the voter in the video ultimately voted as intended; a second to Lafayette County, Mississippi, in 2019, where 19 votes were cast on the machine before it was replaced; and a third to Virginia Beach in the November 2014 midterms, where the error was attributed to the machine's age and missed maintenance, and where machines have been kept on maintenance contracts since 2015.
The hardware itself is retired: according to the Verified Voting equipment registry cited by Reuters, no state has used the AccuVote TSX since 2024, and none of the three jurisdictions in the clips has reported machine mishaps in the current cycle. The clips were posted to X on Oct. 21 and 22, years after they were filmed, presented as if they were new.
For voters in Newark and Essex County, the check is a useful Election Day-eve reminder: a dramatic clip with no date, county or machine name attached is not evidence about the equipment in front of you — and anyone who sees a real problem on a real machine should report it to poll workers on the spot.
