The issue:
Sandy Smith, Republican candidate in Eastern North Carolina’s 1st Congressional District, is claiming that her recent election loss is due to voting-machine fraud.
Smith was a candidate for the U.S. Senate, but ended up running for the U.S. House instead and lost to longtime U.S. Rep. G.K. Butterfield, a Democrat.
Smith has sent out tweets and emails claiming that Dominion voting machines were used in her district, and she blames that for her loss.
Smith’s claim is not true. North Carolina does not use Dominion Voting Systems.
The N&O contacted Eddie Perez, an election-technology expert at OSET Institute, who said, “My research from Verified Voting, a well-respected organization devoted to enhancing election integrity, indicates that every county in U.S. Congressional District 1, where Ms. Smith was running, uses voting systems from the same vendor: Election Systems & Software (ES&S) (and not Dominion Voting Systems).”
A conspiracy theory has spread that Dominion Voting Systems made it possible for people to switch votes initially cast for President Donald Trump to President-elect Joe Biden.
Believers of this conspiracy theory think that Biden was wrongfully elected, and Sandy Smith says these same methods were used to make her lose her election.
Why we’re checking this.
Smith’s tweet has gained attention, getting more than 200 retweets and 500 likes, and the NC State Board of Elections’ Twitter account replied to her tweet.
According to Patrick Gannon, spokesperson for the NCSBE, replying to conspiracies online isn’t something the agency does often.
“It’s not common but we have reported several blatant sources of misinformation to our security partners and/or directly to social media platforms in the past year, including the one you reference,” he says.
What you need to know.
On Dec. 1, Smith tweeted: “I ran for congress. Did better than anyone ever did in this district on the Republican side. Dominion was used in my district. My polling had me ahead. Yet somehow my opponent got truckloads of ballots without even campaigning. No audit. No precinct breakdown. Total sham! #NC01”
She then tweeted that she believes the 2020 election was stolen. In an email to The News & Observer, she expressed her frustrations and desire for action.
She wrote: “Republicans did better in my district than they had in decades — because I overperformed against G.K. Butterfield. I may well have won this seat! I helped President Trump win North Carolina. We need to do a proper audit of the votes, counted by hand, because the Dominion and ES&S machines are fraught with issues and hand ballots are the only kind we can trust! I want a real count, that’s all. I suspect that, like President Trump, if a true count is taken, I will emerge victorious — as the polling before the election predicted!”
In its reply to Smith’s tweet, the elections board said, “Dominion is not used anywhere in North Carolina. It is not certified in this state, nor could any county use it because it would not work with the rest of NC’s system. Please do not share misinformation about NC elections.”
In response, Smith quote tweeted the elections board to ask questions and say, “Some of you are going to jail.”
Perez said ES&S machines are reputable.
“Election Systems & Software is not a ‘shadowy company;’ ES&S is extremely well-known among election officials precisely because ES&S is the largest voting technology provider in the U.S.” Perez said. ... “Voting system providers in the U.S. are fierce competitors, and each one develops its own proprietary software.”
When it comes to voting equipment, the NCSBE website says only ES&S and Hart InterCivic machines were used in the 2020 elections and that, “All systems used in North Carolina have been tested, used, and audited in other states.”
“The claims in her post are so easily debunked that it’s hard to believe anyone would post it. Unfortunately, some people will believe it without checking the facts,” Gannon said. “We always encourage voters to rely on reliable sources for election information, including their state and county boards of elections.”
An email Saturday from The News & Observer to Smith seeking further clarification was not returned as of Monday.
“While voting systems from all major vendors contain vulnerabilities, the existence of vulnerabilities alone should not be taken as evidence of a ‘rigged election,’” Perez said. “Voting technology is not used in a vacuum; it is supported by professional election officials following rigorous procedures.”
All of the counties in the 1st district use voting methods with a paper record, Perez said.
”Indeed, with the exception of Warren County, which uses ballot marking devices for all voters, all the rest use hand-marked paper ballot for all voters, which are considered to be the ‘gold standard’ for election integrity,” Perez said.
The N&O reached out to Dominion to ask about how the misinformation has affected the company. Spokesperson Stephanie Walstrom pointed us towards a statement on the company’s site that says, “Malicious and misleading false claims about Dominion have resulted in dangerous levels of threats and harassment against the company and its employees, as well as election officials.”
Gannon referred to this kind of misinformation as a threat.
“We plan to devote much more time and attention to combating misinformation because it is one of the greatest threats to our elections today,” he said.
BEHIND OUR REPORTING
Our process
We check claims that are widely shared or published; are about a topic of concern to many of our readers; can be proven or disproven through facts; and could cause people to act or vote in a certain way. This topic met all the criteria.
Send comments and suggested fact-checks using this form.
Find out more about our process here. And as always, we abide by our newsroom’s ethical guidelines.
Our sources. Here’s where we found information and research on this topic:
Sandy Smith tweets and email
NC State Board of Elections tweets
Interview with Eddie Perez, election-technology expert at OSET Institute
Interview with Patrick Gannon, NCSBE Public Information Director
This story was produced by The News & Observer Fact-Checking Project, which shares fact-checks with newsrooms statewide. It was edited by Brooke Cain and Jordan Schrader. Submit a suggestion for what we should check, or a comment or suggestion about our fact-checking, at bit.ly/nandofactcheck.
This story was originally published December 15, 2020 9:00 AM.